S.I. No. 558/2025 - Social Welfare (Temporary Provisions) Regulations 2025

Notice of the making of this Statutory Instrument was published in

“Iris Oifigiúil” of 28th November, 2025.

I, DARA CALLEARY, Minister for Social Protection, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by sections 4 (amended by section 14 and reference 1 of the Schedule to the Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2024 (No. 24 of 2024)) and 292 (modified by section 14 of the Social Welfare Act 2024 (No. 36 of 2024)) of the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005 (No. 26 of 2005), with the consent of the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Services Reform and Digitalisation, hereby make the following Regulations:

Citation

1. These Regulations may be cited as the Social Welfare (Temporary Provisions) Regulations 2025.

Definitions

2. In these Regulations—

“Principal Act” means the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005 ;

“Principal Regulations” means the Social Welfare (Consolidated Claims, Payments and Control) Regulations 2007 ( S.I. No. 142 of 2007 );

“relevant weeks” means—

(a) in relation to partial capacity benefit or back to work family dividend, the period commencing on 24 November 2025 and expiring on 29 November 2025,

(b) in relation to jobseeker’s allowance, or farm assist, the period commencing on 26 November 2025 and expiring on 2 December 2025,

(c) in relation to jobseeker’s benefit or jobseeker’s benefit (self-employed) payable in accordance with article 52HA of the Principal Regulations, the period commencing on 27 November 2025 and expiring on 3 December 2025,

(d) in relation to illness benefit, the period commencing on 1 December 2025 and expiring on 7 December 2025,

(e) in relation to disability allowance, the period commencing on 3 December 2025 and expiring on 9 December 2025,

(f) in relation to carer’s benefit, invalidity pension, one-parent family payment (other than where payable in respect of a widow, widower or surviving civil partner), jobseeker’s allowance payable in accordance with section 148A of the Principal Act, a relevant payment under section 178(1) of the Principal Act or carer’s allowance, the period commencing on 4 December 2025 and expiring on 10 December 2025, and

(g) in relation to disablement pension, death benefit payable in accordance with Chapter 13 (other than section 84) of the Principal Act, State pension (contributory), bereaved partner’s (contributory) pension, guardian’s payment (contributory), State pension (non-contributory), blind pension, bereaved partner’s (non-contributory) pension, guardian’s payment (non-contributory) or one-parent family payment (payable in respect of a widow, widower or surviving civil partner), the period commencing on 5 December 2025 and expiring on 11 December 2025.

Temporary variation of rates of certain social welfare payments

3. (1) This article applies to a person who is, or becomes, entitled to—

(a) a payment specified in article 4 of these Regulations in respect of the relevant weeks,

or

(b) domiciliary care allowance in respect of the period commencing on 1 December 2025 and expiring on 31 December 2025.

(2) In the case of a person to whom sub-article (1)(a) of this article applies, the amount of any such payment specified in article 4 of these Regulations (including any increase in that payment) payable to that person in respect of the relevant weeks shall be increased by 100 per cent.

(3) In the case of a person to whom sub-article (1)(b) of this article applies, the amount of any domiciliary care allowance payable to that person in respect of the period commencing on 1 December 2025 and expiring on 31 December 2025 shall be increased in accordance with the following formula—

[(A x 12) ÷ 52.18] x 100%

where A is the amount of any domiciliary care allowance payable to that person in respect of the period commencing on 1 December 2025 and expiring on 31 December 2025.

(4) Subject to sub-article (5) of this article, a person shall not be entitled to an increase in accordance with sub-article (2) of this article in respect of more than one of the payments specified in article 4 of these Regulations.

(5) An increase in accordance with sub-article (2) of this article in respect of more than one of the payments specified in article 4 of these Regulations may be payable where that person is entitled to be paid more than one of the said specified payments in respect of the same periods by virtue of—

(a) section 186A of the Principal Act,

(b) section 247(3A) of the Principal Act, or

(c) regulations made under section 247(4) of the Principal Act.

Specified payments

4. The following payments are specified for the purposes of article 3(1)(a) of these Regulations—

(a) a relevant payment within the meaning of section 178 of the Principal Act;

(b) back to work family dividend;

(c) blind pension;

(d) carer’s allowance;

(e) carer’s benefit;

(f) death benefit payable in accordance with Chapter 13 (other than section 84) of the Principal Act;

(g) disability allowance;

(h) disablement pension;

(i) farm assist;

(j) guardian’s (contributory) payment;

(k) guardian’s payment (non-contributory);

(l) illness benefit in the case of a person whose aggregate period on this payment is not less than 312 days;

(m) invalidity pension;

(n) jobseeker’s allowance in the case of a person whose aggregate period of unemployment is not less than 312 days;

(o) jobseeker’s benefit or jobseeker’s benefit (self-employed) payable in accordance with article 52HA of the Principal Regulations and known as Benefit Payment for 65 Year Olds;

(p) one-parent family payment;

(q) partial capacity benefit;

(r) State pension (contributory);

(s) State pension (non-contributory);

(t) bereaved partner’s (contributory) pension;

(u) bereaved partner’s (non-contributory) pension.

Minimum payment and rounding

5. (1) Where domiciliary care allowance or a payment specified in article 4 of these Regulations is increased in accordance with article 3 and the amount of such increase is less than €20, the said increase shall be payable at the amount of €20.

(2) Where domiciliary care allowance or a payment specified in article 4 of these Regulations is increased in accordance with article 3 and the amount of such increase is greater than €20 but is not a multiple of 10 cent, the amount of the said increase shall be rounded up to the nearest 10 cent where it is a multiple of 5 cent but not also a multiple of 10 cent and shall be rounded to the nearest 10 cent where it is not a multiple of 5 cent or 10 cent.

The Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Services Reform and Digitalisation consents to the making of the foregoing Regulations.

GIVEN under my Official Seal,

25 November, 2025.

JACK CHAMBERS,

Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation.

GIVEN under my Official Seal,

27 November, 2025.

DARA CALLEARY,

Minister for Social Protection.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Instrument and does not purport to be a legal interpretation.)

These Regulations provide for the payment of a bonus to recipients of social welfare payments in December 2025.

The amount of the bonus in the case of recipients of long-term social welfare payments is 100% of the normal weekly payment payable during the first week in December, subject to a minimum payment of €20. In the case of domiciliary care allowance, the amount of the bonus is 100% of the weekly equivalent of the amount of domiciliary care allowance payable, subject to a minimum payment of €20.

Over 1.47 million people will benefit, including pensioners, people with disabilities, carers, lone parents and long-term unemployed people. Recipients of Illness Benefit for longer than 12 months will also receive the bonus, as they did in 2024.

The bonus payment applies to recipients of the following social welfare payments—

(a) back to work family dividend;

(b) blind pension;

(c) carer’s allowance;

(d) carer’s benefit;

(e) death benefit under the Occupational Injury Benefit scheme payable to widows, widowers, surviving civil partners, orphans and dependant parents;

(f) deserted wife’s benefit, and deserted wife’s allowance;

(g) disability allowance;

(h) disablement pension;

(i) farm assist;

(j) guardian’s (contributory) payment;

(k) guardian’s payment (non-contributory);

(l) illness benefit in respect of an aggregate period of not less than 312 days;

(m) invalidity pension;

(n) jobseeker’s allowance in respect of a period of unemployment of not less than 312 days;

(o) jobseeker’s benefit for claimants aged 65 years of age known as Benefit Payment for 65 Year Olds;

(p) jobseeker’s transitional payment;

(q) one-parent family payment;

(r) partial capacity benefit;

(s) State pension (contributory);

(t) State pension (non-contributory);

(u) bereaved partner’s (contributory) pension;

(v) bereaved partner’s (non-contributory) pension.