[ad_1]
Workers who are unable to go to work due to lack of child care brought on by the Covid-19 closures may be eligible to claim Pandemic Unemployment Payment, according to the Department of Social Protection.
In a tweet, the Department said: “Workers affected by the lack of childcare must engage with their employer to explore all available options to allow them to return or continue work when possible.
“Where there are no possible options, they are eligible to apply for the PUP,” he said.
The number of people receiving pandemic unemployment payment has skyrocketed to just under 400,000 from 336,000 a week ago, according to the latest figures from the Department of Social Protection.
The 18.7% increase from 62,000 reflects the wave of business closures triggered by the reintroduction of Level 5 restrictions.
This week’s payments to 398,206 claimants will cost 118 million euros, although the PUP figures do not include another 189,860 people reported in the Live Registry at the end of December.
In all, just over 588,000 people are completely dependent on the state for income support.
Meanwhile, the number of people receiving the Enhanced Covid-19 Disease Benefit has quadrupled in the last 7 days from 1,661 to 6,412, as the number of new coronavirus cases has reached record levels.
The sectors with the highest number of PUP beneficiaries this week are accommodation and food services activities (106,387), followed by wholesale and retail trade (65,300) and administrative and support services activities (34,459).
Wholesale and retail trade saw a dramatic increase of nearly 40% in PUP claims from 46,853 seven days ago to 65,300 this week.
Construction experienced a similar percentage increase in claims (39.3%), from 23,080 last week to 32,151 this week.
However, the Department warns that the worst is yet to come, saying: “The number of people in this sector receiving PUPs is expected to increase further next week following the imposition of restrictions that went into effect Friday night. “.
Social Protection Minister Heather Humphreys said the statistics describe the “harsh” impact the pandemic continues to have on the job market.
“The decisions made by the government to impose greater restrictions on sectors such as construction, retail and education were not taken lightly,” he said.
However, he defended those decisions as “necessary to protect lives, livelihoods and our frontline workers.”
He reiterated the government’s calls for everyone to follow the health guidelines to suppress the virus, adding that the more people adhere to the guidelines, the sooner the government could begin to reopen the economy.
He also reminded claimants that the PUP scheme remains open to eligible individuals, including the self-employed, but also pointed out other supports available to businesses.
“I would also strongly recommend that companies consider taking advantage of the Revenue-managed Employment Wage Subsidy scheme and the Covid Restrictions scheme – during the current restrictions.
“These are designed to protect companies and seek to maintain the important link between companies and their employees during these extremely difficult times,” said the Minister.
Meanwhile, the number of people under the age of 66 benefiting from the Enhanced Covid-19 Disease Benefit has reached 105,372, with increases across all counties and economic sectors.
Of them, 11.5% have been diagnosed with the virus, while the rest have been required to medically self-isolate as a precaution.
During the past month, 7,308 were medically certified for Enhanced Sickness Benefit, and 1,629 contracted the virus.
The largest increase in beneficiaries was recorded in Dublin with 2,007.
The sectors with the highest number of medically certified employees for Enhanced Sickness Benefit are wholesale and retail (22,642) and human health and social work activities (18,595).
Minister Heather Humphreys said the “significant” increase in the number of people receiving the Covid-19 Disease Benefit was yet another demonstration of the increased presence of the virus in communities, coinciding with the increase in the number of viruses.
[ad_2]