The government decided on Wednesday to include more people in its Christmas gift eligibility list and approved further financial assistance to residents of mountainous areas.

Interior Minister Constantinos Ioannou said a one-off payment would be made to people living in mountainous areas at an altitude of over 600 metres, which would be an additional 50 per cent of the allowance they had already been given.

The budget for the allowance was around €2.7 million and would be paid to those eligible to help get through the cold winter.

Ioannou said that around 10,000 homes had benefited from the mountainous areas allowance in 2023, covering about 22,500 people, with a total budget of €5.1 million.

In 2024, those eligible had risen to 23,000 in 128 areas, to benefit from a €5.4 million budget.

Allowances for 2024 have already begun being paid and the one-off payment will be made in January 2025.

The cabinet approved the Christmas gift and increased the number of eligible people by 40,000 to over 100,000, by including conscripts, young mothers, large and single-parent families and those resettling in the north, who will all receive €100 each, the same amount as those who were already eligible.

The benefits are set to cost the state €20.5 million, compared to around €17 million last year.

President Nikos Christodoulides said the government’s responsible fiscal administration made a difference to people’s lives, by providing qualitative investments, lower interest rates, targeted social policy and an increase in eligibility for assistance.

Before entering the presidential palace to preside over the cabinet, Christodoulides also said he would be inviting the press to meet with the new college of commissioners and present Cyprus’ priorities in view of its upcoming presidency of the EU.

The trio presidency begins in January 2025. Poland will be the first of the trio to assume the presidency, followed by Denmark in the second half of 2025 and Cyprus in the first half of 2026.

Christodoulides said this would be a busy time for all, with a heightened involvement in EU policy and more frequent cabinet meetings to discuss EU issues.