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Pandemic unemployment payment (PUP) rates are still very close to what people earned before receiving the benefit despite further cuts, the Taoiseach has insisted.
In his speech at the Dáil, Micheál Martin defended the cut that takes effect from today. The PUP will drop from € 350 to € 200 to € 300, depending on the income people earned before the pandemic. Currently, more than 150,000 people receive the payment.
“The new fees are very close to what they would have earned before entering the Covid payment,” he told Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald.
Mr. Martin said that the impact of Covid-19 could be in place “for the whole of 2021 and therefore tax planning and planning around budgets must take that into account.”
He said that “now we are looking for a much longer period” and the Government had already put 3.5 billion euros in the payment of the pandemic.
The Taoiseach also defended the appointment of 10 special advisers to the Ministers of State, as Ms. McDonald compared their appointments and salaries to pay.
“It amazes me that your government has approved the hiring of 10 advisers for junior ministers at a time when it is cutting payments to people who have lost their jobs,” he said during questions from leaders. € 350 is not a fortune. Nobody in this chamber has € 350. I would dare to say that the 10 special advisers to their junior ministers receive a lot more than 350 euros. “
And he warned that with the pandemic payment cuts, the ending of mortgage payment breaks and the end of the ban on evictions, “the real danger is that people will become more terrified of losing their jobs their home and their families do not keep from contracting the virus ”.
The cut should be reviewed and reversed, he said.
The Taoiseach accused the Sinn Féin leader of hypocrisy and pointed out to the special advisers his party employed in the Northern Ireland Executive.
“You were one of the original enthusiasts for special advisers,” he said. “So stop the hypocrisy on that subject.”
McDonald also criticized the way people were informed about the additional restrictions for Dublin on Friday. She said restaurants only found out 24 hours before they would have to close.
The government’s strategy would involve periods of tightening restrictions and then relaxing them, he said. “For this to be successful, we need clear communication. We don’t need surprises at the 11th hour, ”he said.
Martin said the measures announced last week were necessary in the public interest to save lives and protect people. “They were needed to stabilize the number of cases in Dublin, in particular to stabilize the numbers. And the same applies across the country. “
He added that level three is not equivalent to the lockdown experienced at the beginning of the year.
Ms. McDonald also criticized the end of the original ban on evictions, saying the new legislation “provides none of the protections of the original ban and leaves thousands of tenants exposed.”
He warned that there are about 37,000 households whose mortgage payment will be interrupted in the coming days and businesses, which would cause great difficulties.
“Unless there is a further break in payments at the end of September, these families will default.”
The Taoiseach rejected Ms. McDonald’s claims about the evictions, insisting that “the government’s legislation is stronger than what was in effect,” which it said could not be in place without violating the Constitution.
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