Ms Br?d O'Brien:

I thought there was a clear learning in this regard from the pandemic unemployment payment, PUP. The payment was set at a level that made a difference. As the labour market reopened, it was really striking that the numbers went down. When the PUP was closed, only 20 people moved across to a jobseekers' payment. The clear message for me was that we need to get the adequacy piece right. It makes a difference if people are not frantically trying to struggle. Finding a job is a job in itself. Some people are great at it, but the majority of us are not. We need assistance and we need support. If one is frantically trying to manage, it is very hard to find a job because it takes financial and human resources to get one's head in that space. When one is applying for a certain job, one has to figure out how to write the covering letter, what to send in and what to highlight. It can be very difficult. Getting that piece right will help people to manage other aspects, including doing what is expected of them if they are on a jobseekers' payment, which is to find a job. It is critical to get that piece right.