Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Regarding the compliance issue, the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection carries out compliance inspections at ports and airports throughout the year. My notes state it has been doing so since 2012. The legal basis for the control and compliance checks is section 250(16) of the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005, as amended by section 17 of the Social Welfare and Pensions Act 2012. Since March 2020, some 2,000 PUP claims have been closed as a result of checks carried out in Dublin Airport. That is the note I have from the Department. The vast majority, I understand up to 90%, of PUP cases stopped as a result of this work relate to individuals leaving the country not as holidaymakers, but on a permanent basis. Is it Deputy McDonald's position that that should not happen? Is it her position that those who leave the country permanently should continue to receive pandemic unemployment payments? That seems to be what the Deputy is saying.

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