James Lawless (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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948. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the status of a Covid-19 payment for a person (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [7481/20]

Regina Doherty (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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My Department receives information from Revenue of all customers paid under the Revenue Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme (TWSS). This file includes a customer’s PPSN, customer’s wage payment frequency (monthly, fortnightly or weekly paid) and the date of the TWSS payment.

A Covid-19 PUP application will not pay due to Revenue overlap if the date of a customer’s last TWSS payment was within a certain period prior to the Covid-19 PUP payment date. This is based on the customer’s salary/wage payment frequency.

My Department is aware that a small number of employers, having initially registered for the TWSS are no longer paying their employees this way. A TWSS registered employee, who is no longer engaged with the TWSS may not receive a Covid-19 payment for a period of time after the last payment run processed by their employer, as the scheme is set up to block the issuing of Covid-19 payments to avoid duplication of payments during a validation period. This period is based on the salary payment frequency of the employee. A person cannot receive a Covid-19 payment and a TWSS payment concurrently.

According to the records of my Department, the person concerned submitted applications for a Covid-19 PUP on 08/04/2020 and 10/04/2020 respectively. These applications were refused as according to Departmental records the employer was registered for TWSS. I am advised that the person concerned submitted a further application for a Covid-19 payment on 28/4/2020 and this was awarded and paid on 5/5/2020 based on the validation period between her last TWSS payment at the end of March and her Covid-19 payment date. However as the person concerned received a payment from her employer at the end of April, subsequent PUP payments failed the validation period of 32 days based on the monthly salary frequency.

As a result of the difficulties encountered with the Covid-19 payment, I am advised that the person concerned received assistance under the Supplementary Welfare Allowance Scheme and was awarded Emergency Needs Payments of €350 on 16/04/2020, 23/04/2020, 30/04/2020, 20/05/2020 and 21/05/2020 respectively. A further ENP payment will issue on week commencing 25/05/2020.

As several Covid-19 payments have failed, I am advised that the person concerned will have received correspondence from the Department advising her how to proceed. The person concerned should contact her local Intreo Centre who should be able to assist her in processing her application.

I trust that this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.