Mr. Christopher Bowes:

On the second question on eligibility criteria for jobseekers' payments and the criteria of being available for and genuinely seeking work, we have concerns about the continued imposition of those criteria in a very strict manner. The OECD published a very useful paper in May examining the various social welfare responses to the pandemic in OECD countries. It highlights that a number of jurisdictions suspended job search and activation requirements for jobseekers payments. By contrast, in Ireland in the case of the pandemic unemployment payment, PUP, such a requirement was added after the fact to the payment by way of the 2020 Act. We are concerned about the continuing imposition of those eligibility criteria to those payments. The Department, by way of circular 35/2020 published in June, seems to have adopted a policy to the effect that someone cannot be considered as genuinely seeking work during a period having travelling abroad where he or she is required to self-isolate and on that basis is not entitled to a payment during that period. We have serious concerns about the logic of such a policy and circumstances where there has been this huge proliferation of online jobseeking and working from home, with the Department adopting a blanket policy to the effect that someone cannot be considered to be genuinely seeking or available for work during a time when he or she is required to stay at home. The policy also reflects a quite concerning harsh, punitive imposition of the travel advice on people who are in receipt of certain social welfare payments in circumstances where for the rest of the population it remains advice. If someone in receipt of certain social welfare payments breaches that advice there could be a huge implication for his or her income and access to social welfare payments. The Deputy is correct in saying those jobseeking and availability for work requirements may need to be examined, particularly in the context of the Covid payment.