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

Sometimes there is an impression that people are not going back to work. As far as I am concerned, people want to go back to work. The quicker they can go back, the better. The sooner the restrictions are lifted, which is happening now, the better. There are many people who will only be too pleased to take up employment.

The number of people in receipt of payments has come down. The sector with the highest number of people in receipt of PUP is the accommodation and food service activities sector, which has 98,000 claims. This is followed by the wholesale and retail sector, which has 62,000 claims, and the construction sector, which has 34,663 claims. The pandemic unemployment payment is paid a week in arrears. The people in retail who went back to work yesterday will not be reflected in those figures until next week because that is when their payment will stop.

The figures for the different sectors include manufacturing, which has 18,000 claims, construction, which has 34,000 claims, and the wholesale retail trade, which has 62,000 claims. The figure of 98,000 claims for the accommodation and food services sector will obviously stay at that level for a time. I hope that information is useful to the Deputy.

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