How to make the most of recent tweaks to State digouts

Top tips on Spring budget changes

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Louise McBride Twitter Email

April 04 2021 02:30 AM

Working parents of young babies or toddlers should make the most of the changes to parent’s benefit which have just kicked in.

Take more time at home with your baby

Since the start of this month, you can get five weeks of parent's benefit instead of two weeks — and you also have a longer window of time in which to claim it.

Parent's benefit is a State payment of €245 a week which is paid to those who take parent's leave from work. As five weeks' benefit is now available, each parent is now entitled to €1,225 of parent's benefit.

You can now take parent's benefit up to your child's second birthday — or within two years of the adoption of a child. Previously, you had to take parent's benefit within a year of your child's birth or adoption.

You can take the five weeks of parent's benefit together — or separate weeks of leave. Parent's benefit is in addition to the existing maternity and paternity State benefits.

Both employees and the self-employed can qualify for parent's benefit — as long as they have paid enough social insurance contributions.

Earn more as a single parent

Don’t turn down extra work if you’re a single parent fearful of losing out on the one-parent family payment by doing so.

Since the start of this month, single parents who work will no longer lose their one-parent family payment if they earn more than €425 a week.

Be sure you meet the other conditions of the one-parent family payment before claiming it though — including that you be the main carer of at least one child below seven years of age.

Upgrade your hearing aids

Since March 27, the State’s Treatment Benefit Scheme will cover the full cost of a hearing aid (up to a maximum of €500 per aid or €1,000 for a pair) — and the full cost of repairs to aids (up to a limit of €100) once every fourth calendar year.

Before March 27, you had to pay at least half the cost of a hearing aid and repairs.

But go easy on the heating

Think twice before turning on the heating or throwing another briquette on the fire from May 1 — when Budget 2021's carbon tax hike kicks in for home heating oil, briquettes, coal and natural gas.

The increase in carbon tax will add almost €20 to the cost of 900-litres of home heating oil and around €18 to an average household's annual gas bill.