More than 350,000 people continue to receive pandemic unemployment pay

MORE THAN 350,000 people received Pandemic Unemployment Pay (PUP) this week, an increase of just over 2,000 from last week.

The Social Protection Department paid 104 million euros to the PUP this week, with more than 4.3 billion euros in payments issued since it was introduced earlier this year.

The sector with the highest number of people who receive payment is that of accommodation and catering activities, with more than 102,000 people.

It is followed by the wholesale and retail trade (57,292 people) and sectors such as hairdressers and beauty salons (31,273).

There are 352,078 people who have received payment in total this week.

Social Protection Minister Heather Humphreys said the government hopes to consider easing Covid-19 restrictions starting in early December.

He said this “will hopefully get some people back to work.”

“These last few weeks have not been easy. I know people are tired and just want life to get back to normal, ”Humphreys said in a statement.

The Taoiseach Micheál Martin has said that the plan to get out of the Level 5 restrictions starting next week will be made public “either on Thursday or Friday” this week.

Speaking to reporters earlier today, Martin said that the coalition leaders will meet tonight and a full cabinet meeting will be held tomorrow morning.

He added that “no decisions have yet been made” on the restrictions effective as of December 2.

Other figures

Nearly 5,000 people closed their PUP last week, and two-thirds said it was because they were returning to work.

The age group with the highest number of people receiving the PUP continues to be those under 25, with almost 90,000 people in this cohort receiving the payment this week.

It is followed by people from 25 to 34 years old and those from 35 to 44 years old.