The social welfare Christmas bonus will be paid early this year to avoid possible disruption caused by next Wednesday's planned 24-hour strike at An Post.
The Minister for Social Affairs, Mr Brennan today assured more than 800,000 recipients that the payments would be made and that contingency plans were already being prepared to minimise any delays in regular payouts caused by the industrial action.
Details of the contingency arrangements will soon be announced as the threat of a more protracted dispute at An Post looms.
The Minister said the €127.4 million-worth of bonuses are in the process of being paid and will be completed in advance of Wednesday's action. Among those who benefit from the traditional double payment are pensioners, widow and widowers, one-parent families, deserted wives, carer's, the disabled and the unemployed.
The bonus is also paid to certain participants of FÁS, VTOS, Job Initiative and CE schemes and certain income maintenance schemes operated by the Department of Health and Children.
"This bonus payment is relied on by hundreds of thousands of people, and is important at this time of year as spending pressures increase," Mr Brennan said.