Full list of people who can qualify for €404 payment towards bills
The Household Benefits Package helps with the cost of your electricity or gas bill and the TV licence. You do not have to be living alone to qualify. However, only one person in a household can get the package.
You can get the Household Benefits Package if you are aged 70 or over. You do not need to be getting a State pension, and the package is not means tested. People under 70 can also get the HBP, but additional rules apply.
How to qualify for the Household Benefits Package?
To receive the HBP, you must:
You do not need the bill to be in your name if you are applying to get the Electricity or Gas Allowance paid in cash to your bank or post office account, or if the bill is in your landlord's name.
If you are under 70, you can get the Household Benefits Package if you are getting a qualifying social welfare payment. If you are under 70 and living with your spouse, cohabitant or civil partner, you can get the HBP if you are getting a qualifying social welfare payment and:
Qualifying social welfare payments for people under 70
If you are between 66 and 70:
If you are aged between 66 and 70 and not getting one of the payments above, you may qualify for the Household Benefits Package if you pass a means test.
Qualifying social welfare payments if you are under 66:
Widowed people or surviving civil partners
You can qualify for the Household Benefits Package, if you are widowed or a surviving civil partner aged between 60 and 65 and your late spouse or civil partner was getting the Household Benefit Package before their death.
To qualify, you must have lived together when the Household Benefit Package was first awarded and you must be getting one of the following payments:
If you were under 60 when your spouse or civil partner died, you can get the Household Benefits Package when you turn 60 if you meet these conditions.
What is covered by the Household Benefits Package?
There are 2 allowances in the Household Benefits Package:
Allowance 1
Allowance 2
If you have an electricity and natural gas supply, you must choose between the Electricity Allowance and Gas Allowance. You can choose only one.
The Allowance does not cover the cost of installing an electricity or natural gas supply to your home.
Free Television Licence
Once you qualify for the Household Benefits Package, you can get a Free Television (TV) Licence from your next TV Licence renewal date. To get your Free TV Licence, you must select the Television Licence option on the HBP form when you apply.
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RTÉ News
a day ago
- RTÉ News
Call for Government to expand eligibility for back-to-school allowance
The children's charity Barnardo's has called on Government to expand eligibility for the back-to-school allowance to help more parents meet the cost of kitting out their child for the school year. The charity has also called for school capitation rates to be increased in order to reduce reliance on so-called 'voluntary contributions'. So far this year, the State has made back-to-school Clothing and Footwear Allowance payments to the families of 236,560 children, but Barnardos believes more should be helped. The allowance is €160 for most primary school children and €285 for those aged 12 and over. Publishing a report which details how many parents worry about meeting back-to-school costs and some even consider cutting back on essentials in order to manage them, Barnardo's CEO Suzanne Connolley said: "No parent should face additional stress and financial pressure to ensure their child has all they need to start back to school." "The Government has reduced some expenses but there is an opportunity for them and schools individually to do more to reduce costs for parents," she said. Yesterday, the children's allowance landed and so staff at Fennessy's school uniform shop on Limerick's William St expected a busy day. They were not disappointed. All day, the shop was thronged with parents, with teens, children and buggies in tow. An army of staff milled about, and in every corner it seemed there was a child struggling to pull a school jumper over their head as parents - mostly mothers - checked for size. Siobhán McGrane spent €114 on a uniform for her daughter who is about to enter first year. She has already spent €45 on a school jacket and €113 for a sports uniform. That all comes to €272. "I think I have spent just close to €800 in total, which is a lot. The iPad was the most expensive part of that". "You are looking at a budget of €500 for each child. That's including shoes, socks, shirts, bags, everything," said Aan Hagali who was in Fennessy's to kit out her daughter who is entering TY at a secondary school in the city. Equipping a child for primary school may be somewhat cheaper than secondary but that was of little comfort to parents in Fennessy's yesterday afternoon. After moving away for a number of years, the Bagnell family are faced with buying full new school uniforms for their two primary school age sons, Harry and Luke. "They both need brand new uniforms so you are looking at around €300-€400 in total," said Natalie Bagness. "At least books are free now but stationary isn't, that was another €150 recently as well. "It all adds up. Including shoes, and my son [in 6th class] is an adult size now, I think I'll be spending between €600 to €700 in total". "It is a lot," she added. 23% VAT charged on clothes for children over 12 Uniform providers like Fennessy's point to the 23% VAT that is charged on clothes designed to fit children aged 12 and upwards. With this additional charge it is no surprise they say that clothing and footwear for second level students costs so much more. Alison Glendenning had just spent €34 on a new school jumper for her daughter Ella, and €66 on new school shoes. Ella is going into second class. "It is quite expensive. With some uniforms you are stuck, you have to buy the branded," she said. "We are lucky that we can get the uncrested pinafore and cardigan so you can go as expensive or as cheap as you want." "You can get navy blue track suit [pants] for about €4, but durability is an issue with them, and warmth in winter" parent Jisa Jose said. She was buying track suit bottoms for her primary age son. "If you want good quality clothes you will have to spend a bit more. It is expensive". Schools offer option of uncrested uniforms Lisa Fennessy of Fennessy's says a lot of schools in and around Limerick city now offer parents the option of crested or uncrested uniforms, meaning parents can choose to shop in a place like Fennessy's or opt for cheaper clothing from the bigger chains. "But as you see we are still very busy. What we hear from parents is 'if you buy cheap you buy twice'. People prefer the quality here." One controversial cost for parents is the so-called school 'voluntary contribution'. Schools say chronic underfunding by the state leaves them with little choice but to turn to parents to try and make up the shortfall. Information given to Barnardos by parents indicates that many primary schools are asking parents for a payment of almost €90 while the average contribution at second level comes to €133.
Irish Times
2 days ago
- Irish Times
‘Just be in the present moment': the tyranny of western McMindfulness
Sometimes, the present moment is precisely what we need. Sometimes, it is unbearable. The present moment is not a benign psychological state of calm and tranquillity; it is to be approached with caution because it is potent with possibility and the potential to unravel our cobbled-together lives. 'Just be in the present moment,' we might say to the overstretched parent, the struggling adolescent, the commuter getting home in the dark or the junior doctor 11 hours into another Friday night working in A&E. Often this is a heartfelt and well-intended response to witnessing our fellow humans in distress; an expression of a genuine desire to offer comfort and support. However, this is not always the wisest response; it ignores what we know about the human mind, obscures the structural issues that underpin much human distress and runs the risk of victim blaming. READ MORE Like every generation before us, when faced with the inevitable challenges of being human, we seek simple solutions to complex problems. We turn to our contemporary healers seeking a balm or a quick fix for the troubled heart and mind and the exhausted body. And now, more than ever, we place our hope, perhaps too readily, in the promise of the present moment, overestimating its power and mistaking it for a cure. These minds of ours seem to have minds of their own sometimes. Racing ahead, spiralling back, caught in loops or worry and scenes we never meant to replay. There is little doubt that the human mind needs to be rescued from the rollercoaster of worry and rumination, the cycle of graphic catastrophisation we are all gripped by from time to time. However, the imperative to simply 'be in the present moment' is often a well-meant but naive response that fails to grasp the complexity of the human mind. The 'just be in the present moment' cultural obsession has taken firm root over the past two decades, emerging in part from the oversimplification of mindfulness meditation. This trend has been described as 'McMindfulness': a westernised, reductive, fast-food version of Eastern meditation practices, stripped of their ethical and moral foundations. [ Anyone else had their fill of mindfulness? Opens in new window ] Experienced meditators might smile at the naive expectation that one could inhabit the present at will or, indeed, remain there for prolonged periods of time. Or that 'being in the present moment' is a straightforward choice; like flipping a switch and we're suddenly in the arms of the present moment, luxuriating in contentment and calm. Worryingly, the present-moment obsession locates the source of distress firmly within the individual, overlooking the structural and systemic conditions that underlie so much human distress. In so doing, the concept of 'the present moment' is co-opted to serve an increasingly individualistic and meritocratic social narrative. The current obsession with the present moment also plays into the lucrative wellness culture we find ourselves immersed in. A wellness culture that also seeks to exist in the absence of meaningful social critique. This culture places an unsustainable burden on individual bodies and minds, demanding self-optimisation without addressing the broader conditions that cause distress. In such a culture underpinned by insatiable individualism, we find ourselves stumbling towards a new kind of exhaustion, present-moment burn out. Sometimes, the present moment is simply too much to bear. Sometimes, it's too painful. Sometimes it's overwhelming. And fundamentally, that is not a failure of will; it is simply not how the human brain works. Advances in neuroscience tell us the brain does not behave like a machine, responding to commands, and switching gears on command. It is the product of millenniums of evolution, shaped to anticipate, remember and protect. It does not yield easily to commands such as 'just relax', 'don't be worrying' or 'be in the present moment'. Our brains are primed for vigilance, to detect threats, escape danger and act fast, not linger and reflect. This immediacy and reactivity once gave our ancestors a survival advantage in a threat-ridden world. It's a 'better safe than sorry' brain in the main; reflection weighing the pros and cons comes later; survival comes first. The human brain's ability to psychologically avoid and deny the present moment is a highly evolved way of protecting ourselves from being overwhelmed. At times it might be the only option, even the wisest one, when life's harshness is unrelenting, when the forces of social and economic deprivation offer no reprieve, and when the lottery of life seems incessantly cruel. [ Has mindfulness become just another wing of capitalism? Opens in new window ] 'Just be in the present moment' can be a brutal ask that risks exposing the human heart and soul to more than they can bear. In the face of adversity, temporary emotional avoidance may be precisely what's called for. Denial, so often maligned by present-moment enthusiasts, can in fact be our ally. It can serve as an adaptive, protective and even compassionate reflex in the face of the cruelty we can encounter as we make our way through this life. The danger lies in becoming trapped in a pattern of denial: the psychological toll involved in persistent denial is considerable. A little denial can go a long way, but we get into trouble when avoidance becomes a way of life. A life lived in a continual state of denial and avoidance will blunt all of life; we risk living a life that feels hollowed out, flattened. In the present moment we are invited to bow to our smallness and insignificance, where we recognise our place in the vast web of existence, our place in the 'family of things' as the poet Mary Oliver described it. The immensity of the universe is laid bare when the present moment is encountered; this immensity slowly and softly reveals itself to us, offering an invitation to breathe deeply and live more wholeheartedly. In the presence of this moment, our interconnectedness is felt viscerally again, as if for the first time. The present moment pulls the rug from beneath us, uproots us from an anaesthetised individualism and reawakens us to the sharpness and subtlety of our shared humanity. Our long-standing ill-at-ease, out-of-sorts hen on a hot griddle eventually gives way to a bewildering vastness: sparkling with marvellousness and insignificance, tipsy on the freedom of it all. Our current cultural obsession with the present moment often obscures its radical potential, attempting to neutralise its potency. The present moment does not exist in an abeyance of our past or our imagined future. The present moment is never cut off from our past or imagined future; it is carried on the wings of memory and anticipation, rooted in what has been and lifted by what might be. The present moment, nestled quietly here, is not a refuge of sameness or shallow calm. It is the threshold where the familiar comforts of predictability begin to loosen, making space for the life that has been quietly waiting for us all along. Dr Paul D'Alton is associate professor at the school of psychology, UCD
Irish Examiner
3 days ago
- Irish Examiner
'Hugely significant' Irish archive donated to the State will be unveiled in Cork
A once long-lost archive linked to writer and historian Daniel MacCarthy Glas, a descendant of one of the great 13th-century Gaelic families of Ireland, is to go on display in Cork almost eight years after its donation to the State. The vast trove of hugely significant material, which dates from the 1700s and 1800s, will be unveiled in the Cork City and County Archives in Blackpool later this month as part of Heritage Week. City archivist Brian McGree, who along with other archivists has spent months painstakingly listing, arranging, and cataloguing the collection, said the Daniel MacCarthy Glas Archive and Exhibition will remain on display at other locations around Cork over the next year. It comprises of 1,200 unique items and is of major historical importance, containing personal letters, manuscripts, photographs, and drawings from Daniel and other family members. Daniel MacCarthy Glas, whose donated archive will be unveiled in the Cork City and County Archives in Blackpool later this month as part of the Daniel MacCarthy Glas Archive and Exhibition. The collection comprises an estimated 1,500 unique items including personal letters, manuscripts, photographs and drawings from Daniel and other family members. HISTORY HUB If you are interested in this article then no doubt you will enjoy exploring the various history collections and content in our history hub. Check it out HERE and happy reading 'The scope of the collection is immense, documenting a range of topics — from the MacCarthy aristocratic lineage, to 19th century poetry and historiography, the Irish nationalist movement, the history of early modern Ireland, the French Revolution of 1848, the British Empire in India and South Africa, emigration, and the Great Famine and its dire impact on the local population in West Cork,' Mr McGee said. However, it includes one document Mr McGee described as of 'immense cultural and historical significance' — a 1784 family pedigree of the Gaelic prince Jeremiah MacCarthy (Diarmuid an Dúna) compiled by the famous poet/schoolmaster John Collins of Myross, known as 'the last bard of Munster'. Written on parchment in a combination of both Irish and English, the pedigree bears the wax seal of John Butler, a former bishop of Cork and later Baron Dunboyne, who was a controversial figure. Historian Michelle O'Mahony and senior Cork City Council archivist Brian McGee with two of the collection of paintings which have been donated to the State as part of the archive. Experts say it is one of very few original manuscripts in existence from Collins or any other Gaelic scholar from the period. The pedigree has been subject to a detailed process of transcription and interpretation by Cornelius Buttimer, formerly of UCC. Daniel MacCarthy Glas's family was directly descended from the princes of Carbery, the MacCarthy Reaghs and the MacCarthy Glas, based at Togher Castle near Dunmanway in Co Cork — the 'Glas' differentiating this branch of the MacCarthys from others in the region. His grandfather emigrated from Cork to England in 1763, and Daniel was born into a wealthy Irish Catholic shipping and coal merchant family in London in 1807. Educated to a high standard, he was very well-read and well-travelled, was a fluent Irish speaker, and took a major interest in his ancestry and in Irish history, writing two important books: The Life and Letters of Florence MacCarthy Reagh (1867); and A Historical Pedigree of the Sliochd Feidhlimidh, the MacCarthys of Gleannacroim (1875). He contributed historical articles to The Nation and various journals during the Irish historical awakening of the 19th century. Senior Cork City Council archivist Brian McGee and historian Michelle O'Mahony — who helped secure the Daniel MacCarthy Glas archive from the US — with some of the paintings which have been donated to the State. Many of his works involved painstaking research through State papers and other records, and he was in regular and detailed correspondence with celebrated Cork historian Richard Caulfield, the first librarian at UCC, and with a large circle of other Irish antiquarians, archaeologists, and early pioneers of Irish scholarship during the Irish historical awakening of the 19th century. He was also a noted philanthropist, sponsoring the education of students in Dunmanway, helping Catholic institutions, and helping to preserve historic buildings and monuments such as Togher Castle and St Patrick's Church in his native Dunmanway. Some of his family were poets and writers, and some held important positions, reflecting the fact that they intermarried with the British elite. His father-in-law, for example, was Rear-Admiral Home Riggs Popham, who served in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. He invented a flag signal code adopted by the British royal navy in 1803, which was used by British naval hero Nelson at the Battle of Trafalgar to keep navy tactics secret. Daniel was very close to his daughter-in-law, Alice, who kept all his letters, writings, notes, and notebooks. The archive then made its way to Oregon over a century ago, where it was kept safe by later generations, finally ending up with a descendant, Susan MacCarthy, who agreed in 2017 to donate it to the state. Mr McGee said the complex process of repatriating the archive was started a number of years ago, and it was successfully concluded thanks to the efforts of Dunmanway historian Michelle O'Mahony, Mervyn O'Driscoll of the school of history at UCC, Nigel McCarthy of the McCarthy DNA Project, and the archivists of the Cork City and County Archives Service. Ms O'Mahony said she is delighted the collection is ready to be unveiled. 'It is of immense importance to Cork City, Cork county, nationally, and internationally. There was a lot of work involved in cataloguing it, and I'm just delighted to see it finally going on display,' she said.
