Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

This issue only came to the fore in the past number of weeks. My priority is in getting the issue sorted for the workers so they can claim the supports they are entitled to. In order to do that, the employer needs to provide UP80 forms to certify the number of days that employees have worked. We must have confirmation of the days people are unemployed because otherwise we would be paying money out to everyone. We have to get the details. I confirm that when those forms are received, claims will be backdated to 1 September. Aer Lingus confirmed to my Department today that it will provide those forms to its workers as a matter of urgency. Once the Department receives that information, my officials will prioritise the processing of the applications from Aer Lingus workers. The Deputies will understand and appreciate that we need the forms because we need to have certification of the number of days a person is working before we can make a payment.

I share the frustration of the Deputies as to why that has not happened previously. There are thousands of companies in receipt of the EWSS and, to the best of my knowledge, this issue has not arisen elsewhere. I spoke to the officials last week and they have been engaging with Aer Lingus. My Department has clarified to Aer Lingus on a number of occasions the details that are required.

I hope and expect the management at Aer Lingus to communicate fully with its staff members on this matter and provide them with the necessary documentation. Once that documentation is received by my Department, these applications from workers in Aer Lingus will be prioritised for payment.

Regarding the EWSS, when those forms come in, to be clear, they will be backdated to 1 September and claims will be paid from that date. Turning to TWSS, that was a different scheme to the EWSS, and the key issue in this regard is that it is necessary for a potential claimant to have been unemployed for several days before it is possible to get the short-term working payment.

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