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IT WOULD NOT BE fair to increase or restore Pandemic Unemployment Pay (PUP) for a cohort of workers and not for others who have also lost their jobs, according to Social Protection Minister Heather Humphreys.
His comments come after the Taoiseach defended the cuts to Covid-19 unemployment payments, insisting that the government may need to fund financial support measures for the pandemic throughout 2021.
Micheal Martin was responding to calls in the Dáil to reverse the reduction in the PUP.
Payments of € 350 per week have been reduced to between € 200 and € 300. More than 150,000 people continue to receive the benefit.
Over the weekend, Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien hinted that the total amount of 350 euros a week could be recovered in the most affected sectors.
In an interview with TheJournal.ie Yesterday, the Taoiseach confirmed that the Government is reviewing the PUP system and that any changes will be directed to the sectors of the economy most affected by the pandemic.
He indicated that adjustments to the social welfare system could allow those in the PUP to do some work without losing their pay.
Humphreys told the Dáil tonight that the government is trying to be as fair as possible, stating that it needs to make sure the scheme is sustainable next year.
She said the impact of the pandemic is deeper and longer than anyone expected, and said the PUP was initially an emergency measure that had to be extended.
The minister said that payment may be necessary “for much longer than we expected.”
He also confirmed that the scheme would be reviewed as part of the Budget, but added:
“There is no free money and we have to pay it back.
“While we can borrow money now, ultimately these loans will have to be repaid by young people and future generations of workers.”
Labor’s Sean Sherlock said those in the arts and entertainment business are hit the hardest and called for the restoration of pay for those sectors.
He said he feared that people might be forced to emigrate because he was not allowed to reopen his line of business in Ireland.
The minister said that it would not be fair to restore payment for a group of workers.
During questions from leaders, Sinn Fein President Mary Lou McDonald urged Martin to reinstate the original payments.
She contrasted it with a government decision to appoint 10 special advisers to junior ministers.
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McDonald said it was extraordinary that last week’s move to eliminate the PUP came just 24 hours before tighter restrictions on the coronavirus were announced in Dublin.
Martin said the PUP was originally planned as a 12-week intervention. He said that while rates had now been lowered, the plan had been extended until next April.
The Taoiseach also raised the possibility that the government would need to finance similar measures until the end of next year.
“We are now seeing a much longer horizon for Pandemic Unemployment Payments,” he said.
“And one of the decisions we made in July was to extend it until April of next year.
“This government has already invested 3,500 million euros in the payment for pandemic unemployment, that’s what it has cost. This year alone, the government will spend 28 billion euros on social protection, which constitutes an unprecedented intervention by the state and the government to support revenues and, yes, the rates have dropped in line with the July decision, but they are still they are very close to what people would have been earning before entering the Covid payment.
“Now we also have to look beyond April and we have to realize that the impact of Covid, particularly economically and financially, could occur throughout the whole of 2021 and therefore planning, tax planning, planning in around social protection budgets, he has to take that into consideration and he will. “
With reports from the Press Association
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