Social security benefits cost taxpayers €223.9 million in the first three months of the year, figures released on Friday by the National Statistics Office show.
The figure represents a 7.4 per cent increase over the same period in 2017, with spending increases registered for both contributory and non-contributory benefits.
Spending on contributory benefits - benefits which workers pay for through regular contributions as laid down in the Social Security act, such as the two-thirds pension - totalled €176.2 million, or 6.3 per cent more than in the first three months of 2017.
The main catalyst for the increase in expenditure was an €8.5 million increase reported under the two-thirds pension, with higher spending also registered for widows' pensions (€1.4m) and contributory bonus (€500,000). Spending on invalidity pensions fell by €100,000.
Outlay on non-contributory benefits, which serve as a safety net for those who of limited financial means, rose by 11.9 per cent to reach €47.6 million by the end of March.
Double payments in March made for both Old Age Pension and Disability
Pensions/Allowance, resulting in a joint increase of €5.1 million, was the main reason for the recorded increase, the NSO said. Further increases were also registered under In-Work Benefit (€500,000), Non-Contributory
Bonus (€300,000), Supplementary Assistance (€200,000) and Child Allowance (€100,000). Spending on Social Assistance fell by €1.1 million during the first quarter.
Beneficiaries
47,071 people received a two-thirds pension during the first quarter, making them the biggest group of recipients of contributory benefits by a factor greater than five.
In total, there were 2,347 more recipients of a two-thirds pension during that period when compared to the first quarter of 2017. Sickness benefit recipients also rose by 1,419 to reach 9,156.
At the other end of the spectrum, the largest drop in recipients (561) was reported by the Retirement Pension.
By the end of March 2018, Childrens Allowance (40,905) formed the largest share of non-contributory beneficiaries, followed by recipients of supplementary assistance - 23,567.
The In-Work Benefit reported the largest rise in recipients, with 1,064 more than the same quarter in 2017. Conversely, the Unemployment Assistance registered the biggest decline in recipients (496).