Ten groups are eligible to claim handy €1,144 payment

There are a number of social welfare payments that can be paid as extra on top of your usual weekly payment.

One such payment is the Living Alone Allowance, which six major groups are eligible for.

The Living Alone Increase is an extra payment for people who are living alone and getting a social welfare payment.

Read more: What cost of living benefits will be paid and what bills are going up in July

Read more: Social welfare Ireland: Thousand of people eligible for a little-known extra payment of €1,040

Here’s everything you need to know about it and how to apply.

Who is eligible?

If you are 66 or over

If you are aged 66 or over and live alone, you will qualify for the Living Alone Increase if you are getting one of the following six payments :

• State Pension (Contributory)
• State Pension (Non-Contributory)
• Widow’s, Widower’s or Surviving Civil Partner’s (Contributory) Pension
• Widow’s/Widower’s Pension under the Occupational Injuries Benefit Scheme
• Incapacity Supplement under the Occupational Injuries Benefit Scheme
• Deserted Wife’s Benefit

If you are under 66

If you are under 66 and live alone, you can qualify for the Living Alone Increase if you’re getting one of the following payments:

• Disability Allowance
• Invalidity Pension
• Incapacity Supplement
• Blind Pension

You can also qualify as living alone if you:

• Are aged or infirm and have a friend or relative to stay for security reasons at night-time only (the friend or relative must not contribute to the household financially)
• Live alone during the day but stay with relatives or friends at night or if you live alone during the week but have a relative to stay at the weekend (the living alone condition is satisfied as long as the relative has a permanent home address elsewhere)
• Live alone but occasionally take in paying guests (for example, during a local festival) – but if you run a bed and breakfast business (even for part of the year) you will not qualify
• Allow somebody who is not an employee or not an immediate family member to stay in your home rent free and you would be living alone, but for that person
• Are renting for at least 28 consecutive days to somebody who is not an employee and not an immediate family member, and you would be living alone, but for that person
• Are hosting somebody from Ukraine covered by the Temporary Protection Directive and you would be living alone, but for that person.

How much is the Living Alone Allowance?

The payment is €22 per week, adding up to €1,144 a year.

How to apply

Fill in a Living Alone Increase application form (pdf). Send the completed form to the section of the Department of Social Protection that pays your main pension or benefit.