[ad_1]
Almost 300,000 people will receive Pandemic Unemployment Payment this week, an increase of more than 50,000 in the last 7 days.
According to the latest figures from the Department of Social Protection, 295,860 people will claim the payment this week, 51,707 more than the 244,153 last week, an increase of 21.17% or more than a fifth.
This week’s payments will cost 85.6 million euros, more than 20 million euros compared to last week’s figure.
The sector with the highest number of people claiming the PUP is Accommodation and Food Services (90,051), followed by Wholesale and Retail Trade (43,432) and Administrative and Support Services Activities (25,656).
Aside from those who received the PUP, another 211,492 people were on the Live Registry at the end of September.
This week, eligible beneficiaries who were earning more than € 400 before the pandemic will see their payment of € 300 restored to € 350. The other three PUP rates (€ 203, € 250 and € 300) remain unchanged.
Social Protection Minister Heather Humphreys said the figures reflect the economic impact of the decision to move to level 5 restrictions. However, approximately 3,000 people had closed their PUP claims.
“I know these have been a really difficult few days, especially for those who have temporarily lost their jobs or whose businesses have had to close.
“I know people are worried about the next few weeks. They are worried about their families, their friends and their jobs,” he said.
Ms. Humphreys said the government’s decision to keep PUPs open for new applications allowed her Department to quickly deliver payments to more than 50,000 people temporarily laid off due to restrictions.
He said the key message was to submit the application online to allow for quick payment processing.
The minister urged the public to redouble efforts to suppress the virus, limiting contacts, working remotely when possible and staying 5km from home to exercise.
Meanwhile, the numbers calling for payment of the enhanced Covid-19 disease benefit increased in all counties, with the largest increases in Dublin, Cork and Galway.
Around 3,900 people are currently medically certified to receive this € 350 payment, although most of them have been ordered to self-isolate as a precaution.
As of March, the total cumulative number of people under the age of 66 who were medically certified to receive the coronavirus illness benefit is 79,256.
The sectors in which the most claims were made include wholesale / retail trade (16,934), followed by human health and social work (15,034) and manufacturing (10,941).
[ad_2]