The Government has announced a weekly increase of \u20ac10 per person in a range of social protection payments from 2026, including: the State pension, disability allowance, carer’s allowance, jobseeker’s allowance and one-parent family payment.<\/p>\n
A Christmas bonus of a double payment for recipients of long-term social welfare schemes will be paid again this year.<\/p>\n
The increases, which apply from January 2026, means the non-contributory State pension will rise to \u20ac288 per week for people aged 66 to 79 and \u20ac298 for those over 80.<\/p>\n
Jobseeker’s allowance (for those aged over 25) and disability allowance will both rise to \u20ac254 per week.<\/p>\n
Minister for Public Expenditure Jack Chambers announced the increases during the presentation of Budget 2026<\/a> to the D\u00e1il today.<\/p>\n “This will benefit 1.5 million recipients, including pensioners, people with disabilities, carers, jobseekers and lone parents,” he said.<\/p>\n Minister Chambers said that he is allocating \u20ac28.9bn to the Department of Social Protection next year, an increase of over \u20ac2bn.<\/p>\n He also announced an increase of \u20ac375 in the carer’s allowance income disregard to \u20ac1,000 for a single person and \u20ac750 for a couple to \u20ac2,000; and an increase in the rate of domiciliary care allowance by \u20ac20 per month, to \u20ac380 per month.<\/p>\n There will be a \u20ac300m package of supports for children and families, including an increase in the weekly rates of the child benefit payment by \u20ac8 for children under 12 and by \u20ac16 for children over 12. This will bring the weekly payment to \u20ac58 for children under 12 and \u20ac78 for those over 12.<\/p>\n However, the two double payments of child benefits that featured in last year’s budget have not been repeated.<\/p>\n \n The working family payment income thresholds are being increased by \u20ac60 per week for all families.<\/p>\n The back-to-school clothing and footwear payment is being extended to two and three-year-olds while the weekly fuel allowance rate is being increased by \u20ac5 to \u20ac38, and fuel allowance eligibility will be extended to all households in receipt of the working family payment.<\/p>\n Mr Chambers (speaking above) said: “Alongside these new measures, the 2026 allocation for the Department will provide for: an additional 30,000 recipients on pensions, illness, disability and carers schemes; the full-year cost of jobseeker’s pay-related benefit, introduced earlier this year; and continued support for over 50,000 beneficiaries of temporary protection from Ukraine including lone parents, pensioners and other vulnerable cohorts.”<\/p>\n Minister for Social Protection, Dara Calleary TD said: “I believe that the measures I am announcing today – with a total value of over \u20ac1.15 billion – will make a huge difference to the lives of the people we serve and, through them to the communities, in which we all live.”<\/p>\n Mr Calleary said that the Government would ensure that we get rid of the means test for the carers allowance, as per the Programme for Government, but that the Budget has taken very targeted measures in this area, particularly on child poverty. <\/p>\n “I’m confident that the combination of the child support payment increase, and the budget for that, with the working family payment changes, would be higher than what many are proposing what would be the second tier child benefit payment”. <\/p>\n However, People Before Profit TD, Paul Murphy said: “Ordinary people get a measly \u20ac10 extra a week in social welfare payments and an even measlier \u20ac5 extra fuel allowance<\/a> – a drop in the ocean when grocery prices are up a third in the last four years.”<\/p>\n Budget offers ‘nothing’ for families struggling to keep head above water – Cian O’Callaghan<\/p>\n \n