Delayed welfare payments due to reach accounts today

The system-wide banking issue which prevented payments reaching some bank accounts has Tuesday morning has been resolved, according to the Banking & Payments Federation Ireland (BPFI).

The Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection confirmed shortly after lunch that the EU payments system glitch had been resolved and that those affected, including social welfare and child benefit recipients, could expect to receive the delayed payments into their accounts “over the course of the day”.

A statement from the department said it would continue to monitor the issue and urged social welfare customers who had experienced difficulties to contact their community welfare service at the local Intreo Centre.

Many parents across the country woke on Tuesday to discover their monthly child welfare benefit of €140 had not reached their accounts.

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A spokeswoman for the department said the delay in payments was a general banking issue and not specific to welfare payments. However, the absence of child welfare payments would be most noticeable given that they are paid on the first Tuesday of every month.

Ulster Bank said on Twitter it was aware of an "industry wide payments issue" that had delayed some credits being applied to Republic of Ireland bank customer accounts.

“Investigations are ongoing to be able to apply these credits to customers accounts as soon as possible.”

A statement on the Permanent TSB website confirmed that payment transactions between banks had not been received on Tuesday morning due to a “European payments delay”.

“This means that any payment due to transfer to your account from another bank this morning has been delayed,” it said. “We are monitoring the situation and payments will be processed as soon as received.”

An Post said in a tweet its counter services had not been affected by the issue and customers who normally collect their child benefit payments in the local post office could do so.

A spokesman for AIB said all incoming payments to bank customers had been processed.

However, the bank noted on Twitter it had been advised of delays with incoming credit transfer from EU payment systems and were investigating the matter.

In a statement, Bank of Ireland said all payments between BOI customers and between BOI and AIB had been processed over night and were up to date.

However, it warned that there had been a delay in processing payments from “some other institutions” following a central European bank issue which had affected all SEPA system banks.

The monthly welfare benefit of €140 for families with one child is usually paid on the first Tuesday of every month. Families with two children receive €280, with three children receive €420 and four children €560.

Separately, the Green party called on Monday for the Department of Social Protection to urgently address delays of up to five weeks in illness benefit payments to patients.

“The withholding of payments to patients when they are unwell is shocking and unwarranted and should be immediately addressed,” said Green party health spokesperson Dr Séamus McMenamin, adding that it was unclear why the department had changed to a new paper-based form ahead of the move to electronic certification next year.

“There is a marked change in practice and increased workload which needs to be negotiated with GP representative organisations. Patients should not be disadvantaged in the interim.”