By Gráinne Ní Aodha, PA
The Government is expected to sign off on a spring cost-of-living package, which is expected to include a €100 lump sum to those in receipt of child benefit payments.
Senior ministers gathered on Monday evening to finalise the measures before formal sign-off by cabinet on Tuesday morning.
People receiving social welfare payments are to get a €200 lump sum, while there will be a once-off €100 extra child benefit payment and €100 extra for the Back to School Allowance.
The 9% VAT rate for the hospitality sector is to be extended until September, before going back to 13.5%.
It comes before a number of one-off measures introduced alongside Budget 2023 are due to expire at the end of the month.
These include the energy credit scheme for households, with the final €200 payment due in March; the reduced 9 per cent VAT rate for hospitality, as well as electricity and gas bills, and the Temporary Business Energy Support Scheme (TBESS).
Reduced excise duty on fuel has also been in place, with a 21-cent reduction per litre of petrol, 16 cents per litre of diesel and 5.4 cents per litre of marked gas oil due to fall away at the end of February.
It is understood that one-off €200 lump sums will be given to pensioners, carers, people with disabilities, widows and lone parents.
A €100 lump sum is also expected to be given to Child Benefit recipients, and there will be €100 added to the school clothing and footwear allowance.
The total cost of social protection measures is over €400 million.
Targeted Spring Measures
Minister for Housing, Darragh O’Brien said on Monday that the spring measures would be “very targeted”, and that they were aware that “there may be less pressure on heating and electricity” during the summer months.
Minister for Social Protection Minister Heather Humphreys indicated that the measures announced this week would be “considerably less” than the €4.1 billion worth of cost-of-living measures unveiled as part of the budgetary package in September.
She indicated that “older people, people with disabilities, carers and working families with children” would be prioritised for targeted supports.
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said previously that pensioners and those receiving welfare payments would benefit from the package, while Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan said the coalition had seen research that indicates lone parents are particularly vulnerable to hiked up energy bills.
Mr Varadkar and Ms Humphreys, along with Tánaiste Micheal Martin, Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan, Minister for Finance Michael McGrath and Minister for Public Expenditure Paschal Donohoe met on Monday to discuss what measures will be taken, with an announcement expected after it is brought before Cabinet on Tuesday.
The winter evictions ban, which was introduced in November and will expire at the end of next month, is not on the Cabinet agenda this week.
