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

I will answer the first question and then come back to the Deputy on the second. The Deputy has two questions. The first question is on the number of people who have indicated their intention to withdraw from Covid-19 support payments.

The pandemic unemployment payment has proven to be a vital income support to workers, thousands of whom lost their jobs virtually overnight. Since its introduction, over 23 million PUP payments have been made to in excess of 850,000 people, providing income support of more than €7.5 billion to date. The number of people in receipt of the PUP fluctuates in response to changes in the level of public health restrictions. Numbers peaked at over 600,000 on 5 May 2020 and stood at just over 200,000 in October 2020. Following the introduction of level 5 restrictions at Christmas 2020, the numbers increased again and stood at just over 481,000 on 9 February. Since then, and in line with the resumption of economic activity, numbers have steadily declined, with just under 377,000 people paid on 11 May. That is a reduction of over 104,000 claims. That reduction increased to 120,000 this week.

Since the introduction of the PUP, over 643,000 claims have been closed, in the vast majority of cases because people went back to work. Since the start of April, almost 85,000 people have closed their claims to return to work. This is a very positive development and reflects the start of the recovery phase from this pandemic. As the country begins to move out of level 5 restrictions, I remind workers who are returning to work that they must close their claim for the pandemic unemployment payment on the actual date that they start back at work, in order to ensure that their claim is processed correctly and to avoid incurring an overpayment that my Department will subsequently take steps to recover. The easiest way to close a claim for the pandemic unemployment payment is online via mywelfare.ie. Anyone returning to work with an inquiry about closing a claim can contact the Department’s dedicated income support helpline at 1890 800 024 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday to Friday.

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