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THE NUMBER OF people who are receiving the Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP) has fallen under 100,000 for the first time.
This week, Covid welfare payments worth €25.1 million is to be given to 97,130 people – this represents a fall of 4,340 compared to last week.
The greatest reduction this week is in the accommodation and food services sector, as it has been for the past 18 weeks.
The PUP figures published this week are in addition to the 162,898 people who were on the Live Register at the end of September.
All Covid-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payments have been paid into recipients’ bank accounts or at their post office on Tuesday 12 October.
Minister for Social Protection Heather Humphreys said that today’s figures mean there has been an almost 85% reduction in the number of people receiving the PUP since May 2020, at the height of the pandemic.
“To date, my Department has paid over €8.8 billion in Pandemic Unemployment Payments to almost 900,000 people. This income support has been a vital lifeline for these people and their families.
More and more people continue to return to work and the numbers on the PUP have now fallen every single week for the past nine months.
“This clearly demonstrates the significant progress we are making in getting people off the PUP and back into the workforce, as supported by our new Pathways to Work strategy.”
The Department of Social Protection also reminds workers who are returning to work that they must close their claim for the Pandemic Unemployment Payment on the actual date that they start back at work, in order to ensure that their claim is processed correctly and to avoid incurring an over-payment that the department will take steps to recover.
“As PUP is paid weekly in arrears people who have closed their claim last week are receiving a final payment this week and are still counted in the numbers in payment for this week,” it said.
“The easiest way to close a claim for the Pandemic Unemployment Payment is online via MyWelfare.ie. Any worker returning to work with an inquiry about closing their claim can contact the Department’s dedicated Income Support Helpline at 0818 800 024 between 9am and 5pm Monday to Friday.”
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Genuine question, not trolling or stirring…….what sectors still aren’t open that sees/warrants almost 100,000 people still being on the PUP? There’s a massive labour shortage in the country and there seems to be a percentage of people benefiting financially from staying on the PUP as opposed to going back to work. That includes foreign nationals who went back to their birth country and are in receipt of the payment (matter of fact, not speculation).
@Barry Evans: they should make everyone on it turn in person next week to collect it. Then they will know how many in the country or not.
@Barry Evans: The ELE sector was permitted to resume activity last month however it’s going to take time to rebuild it. Students aren’t just going to start coming here again overnight and until there is enough to facilitate more classes there will still be a lot of teachers out of work. Speaking for myself I am not benefiting financially from staying on the PUP as opposed to going back to work and will be only too happy to return to my post when it becomes available.
@Barry Evans:
There may be a shortage of people who want to give their labour for cheap, or for free.
But there’s not a labour shortage.
@Dean: I can assure you that there’s a labour shortage and its not for jobs paying thrupence haypenny. Look at the construction sector and there are massive shortages of labour across the board. Your comment is a throw away one based on nothing
@Barry Evans:
Shortage of supply = value increases. So we were taught.
Shortage of houses and prices go up. But a “shortage” of labour and employers won’t offer the asking price; they just complain that there’s no one to work (for their low wages which don’t get people above water).
@Dean: What are you talking about, it doesn’t look like you’ve worked in a while or your possible unskilled. Over the past 12 months an acute labour shortage has occurred within many sectors. Rates of pay have increased to attract suitability skilled workers to fill these positions.
@Barry Evans: Nightclubs & music venues still closed off the top of my head but a lot of people have left the country and many don’t want to work nights anymore and have moved into 9-5 jobs. Lack of language students most of whom would work 20 p/w in hospitality jobs and chronic housing issues doesn’t help either
@Mary Finn: They got 20,000 to do that this week
@Dean: employers won’t offer the asking price??? Are you having a giraffe? Labourers are being offered 18 quid an hour on sites and they still can’t get people. Hardly minimum wage! There’s a whole cohort in this country who don’t want to work or have grossly over valued themselves. Sounds like you’re definitely falling into the second bracket. I accept that there are some sectors like nightclubs and entertainment who are still stood down or dusting themselves down and starting again but it doesn’t get away from the fact that there’s a shortage of people willing to work. With regard to shortage of supply = increased value, a lot of companies are locked into fixed overheads, fixed price contracts etc from before this sh 1 t storm but sure go right ahead and only see one perspective!
@Barry Evans: The event industry is not yet re opened. No events at RDS for example. Husbands boss said business will resume in 2022 eventually. PUP is needed or otherwise drop a lifelong carrier. I get it you are not happy with people on PUP, Ireland is the slowest country in EU to re open events…
@Pupi_51%: it’s not that I’m unhappy with people being on the PUP. If people from a particular sector for which they’re qualified, such as the one you mentioned, still can’t work then I have no issue whatsoever with them being in receipt of the payment. Once it can be verified in writing by their employer that the sector/organisation still isn’t operating or generating revenue. I dont however believe that’s the case in almost 100,000 recipients of the payment as per the article. If you can be working you should be working, simple as that!
@Barry Evans:
Nightclubs
Live Venues
Airline Travel is long way off normal (this is big)
Some Public Transport (Nightlink)
That is just a start… But the economy is not back on speed and there is places that it might never come back (due to us changing habits)
Slated for saying it a month ago and likely to be again now but when is enough enough. There are so many jobs out there. Sure people don’t want to do them, sure they don’t all pay well but it’s nearly 2 years since covid hit…. Can’t possibly be absolutely no other option for alot of the 100k.
Thats on paper only, paper and reality are very different. If you know you know.
@To Mt: very mysterious comment. Guessing the department moved away from paper a long time ago ;)
@To Mt: how can they not know how many people are on PUP? How do you know more? Be less mysterious and more specific.
The department should send our questionnaires to see if people are still entitled to it.
@Chris Gaffney: they did
have your say