Carol Nolan (Laois-Offaly, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the publication of this Bill, which puts the Covid-19 pandemic unemployment payment on a formal statutory footing. That should assist in providing a greater degree of certainty for the recipients of the payment. It also allows the Minister to provide for urgent needs payments by way of supplementary welfare allowance. This is particularly important because under the supplementary welfare allowance scheme the Department may make a single exceptional needs payment to help meet essential, once-off expenditure which a person could not reasonably be expected to meet out of his or her weekly income. In every year since 2014, over 100,000 people have had to avail of these payments. Perhaps the Minister might inform us of what the allocation for this year’s exceptional needs payments will be. Will there be a reduction in the overall allocation to meet the increased demand for the pandemic unemployment payment and, if so, by how much? This is important because it is usually those who are most financially insecure who need these payments for unforeseen circumstances and when a crisis occurs.

In addition, people on invalidity pensions, disability allowance and carer's allowance are finding it very difficult to survive at present. What they get every week is paltry. It must be looked at in line with the cost of living and so forth to allow them to survive. I appeal to the Minister to do something in regard to those payments in the forthcoming budget. I specifically acknowledge the amendment contained in section 7 of the Bill which confirms that the Covid-19 pandemic unemployment payment is an unemployment benefit based on PRSI and available to self-employed contributors. That is incredibly important because we know that many self-employed people, especially in the arts, music and cultural space, have been greatly and negatively impacted during this crisis. They have found it very difficult to cope and survive. It has been a very stressful time for them. The events in the pandemic were outside of their control so they need to get fair play.

While the letter of this Bill is good, as far as it goes, there is a genuine problem emerging in terms of how the spirit of social protection law is being applied. We have heard in recent days of those who travelled abroad without any idea that in doing so they would face a penalty. I dealt with a musician in Offaly who had his payment cut unfairly. He was attending a funeral that he had to attend. He genuinely did not know about the rules. He told me he would not have gone to the funeral if he had known about the rules. However, I acknowledge the help of the previous Minister, Senator Regina Doherty, in reinstating the payment. It was reinstated after six weeks. Communication and a change of attitude are required. There are genuine people and genuine circumstances so we must be fair and flexible. I also commend the Department's staff on their incredible work.

See this speech in context