Over the last couple of years, as the Taoiseach will remember, we started work to restore the Christmas bonus to families in receipt of social welfare payments. As he knows, these payments are incredibly important, particularly at Christmas time, to some of the lowest-income households in the country, for example, a pensioner on €230 per week. It meant having an extra €173 last year to look after Christmas. For a jobseeker on a very modest €188, it made the difference for a Christmas of having an additional €141 in his or her pocket. Earlier this year, the Minister, Deputy Leo Varadkar, announced publicly that he intended to seek Government support for a full payment this year. As the Taoiseach will recall, last year we paid 75%. I assume that it remains the case that the Government intends to make this full payment, but we are now approaching the end of September. It would be helpful for those families and those people planning their future and their Christmas and what they might be able to afford to do if the Taoiseach would confirm that the Christmas bonus will be paid this year. My question is therefore a simple one: will the Government pay the Christmas bonus this year, and if so, will it be a full weekly payment?

I recall one of the first or second budgets we discussed in rooms not too far from here a number of years ago.

A long time ago.

A long time ago.

That was when you were friends.

The question was whether to cut the different rates of social welfare because there was not any money for anything.

We resisted that.

The former Minister and Tánaiste, Deputy Burton, had to contend with all the difficulties of that. Deputy Howlin knows better than most in this House the challenge facing the Minister, in this case, Deputy Paschal Donohoe. While we hear claims from-----

It seems to be a "No".

-----Deputy O'Dea or others for particular payments in the social welfare area-----

Suggestions.

-----these are increasing in number every day. All I can say-----

A helpful suggestion.

-----is that no decision has been made about any of these, although I hear them being spoken about. However, as far as I recall, I do not think there was any provision made in the Estimates for 2016 for the full payment of the Christmas bonus, and I think the Deputy was in charge of that Department at the time. This is one among a number of issues that must be considered. We will try to be as fair as possible with the resources that are available to the two Ministers. I thank Deputy Howlin for raising this. I know of its importance to pensioners and senior citizens. Obviously-----

-----I cannot confirm what the final decision of Cabinet will be. That will not be evident until the discussions with the different Ministers and their counterparts are concluded.

The Taoiseach is correct. There is never, within the budgetary process, a provision for the Christmas bonus. It has always been, from its inception, paid by way of Supplementary Estimate. That was the way it was paid for last year and that is the way it has been paid for since we restored it. We brought in a Supplementary Estimate, the Taoiseach will recall, and negotiated for €197 million last year. Since then, the Social Insurance Fund has been in surplus. It would be a decent thing to do to signal to people that the Christmas bonus will be provided in order not to have anybody anxious about it now. My concern is that while the Minister for Social Protection has rightly said that a full restoration is a desirable objective that he will pursue, the Minister for Public Expenditure told the budget scrutiny committee last week that there will be no further Supplementary Estimates.

However, he is not going for the leadership; the Minister, Deputy Varadkar, is going for the leadership.

This is a real point of anxiety for the most vulnerable people in the country. The Taoiseach can allay that anxiety by telling us there will be a Supplementary Estimate. It has nothing to do with next year's budget and nothing to do with the budgetary process because the payment will be made in this calendar year and accrue on this year's accounts. That is how it works, as the Taoiseach knows. Under the new European rules it is not possible to pay money this year and have it accrue to next year. Therefore, it is accruable to this year's accounting system. I ask the Taoiseach to give the reassurance to the most vulnerable people in the country that the Christmas bonus will be paid in full this year.

The Deputy is aware that it is not possible to have any further Supplementary Estimates. It will cost €200 million.

One can take it in.

Let me repeat that an announcement will be made about all these matters on budget day by the Ministers here in the House.