Joe Flaherty (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Obviously, I and my fellow Deputies are very pleased to see the reduction in the number of people in receipt of the PUP as the economy starts to reopen. I commend the Department on the speed and efficiency with which this was rolled out and I commend the staff who, as the Minister rightly stated, have answered more than 10 million phone calls regarding the PUP.

I know it is not necessarily related to the question I tabled - and the Minister alluded to it in response to an earlier question tabled by Deputy Kerrane - but I am interested in the review of the PUP. It is slated to take place in June and a consultation process is under way with the Ministers for Finance and Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputies Donohoe and Michael McGrath, regarding industry and employer stakeholders. In that context, consideration should be given to possibly extending the review beyond June so that the extent of the impact of the pandemic can be fully gauged, as well as the scale and nature of supports that will be needed for businesses. It would also be important to engage with the stakeholders to whom the Minister referred.

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