Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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504. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if a Covid-19 payment will be made available in the case of a person (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13987/20]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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I refer the Deputy to the answer provided under Dáil Question No. 1014.

The Covid-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP) was introduced by my Department in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. It is an income support payment for both employees and the self-employed who have become fully unemployed due to a downturn in economic activity related to Covid-19. One of the qualifying criteria for this payment is that the person is aged between 18 and 66 years. Unfortunately on this basis the person concerned does not qualify for this income support.

According to the records of my Department, the person concerned is currently in receipt of a State Pension (contributory).

If the person concerned is experiencing financial difficulties it is open to him to contact his local Community Welfare Service in the Newbridge Intreo Centre where his circumstances will be assessed. Under the Supplementary Welfare Allowance scheme, my Department can make a single Exceptional Needs Payment (ENP) to help meet essential, once-off expenditure, which a person could not reasonably be expected to meet out of their weekly income. There is no automatic entitlement to these payments which are payable at the discretion of the officers administering the scheme, taking into account the requirements of the legislation and all the relevant circumstances of the case, in order to ensure that the payments target those most in need of assistance.

The Community Welfare Service can be contacted by phone at 045 491500 (option 5).

I trust that this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.

Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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505. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if a person who takes employment under the July provision scheme but is not paid until October 2020 will retain their Covid-19 payments. [14004/20]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Where a person in receipt of the pandemic unemployment payment returns to work they should notify the Department of the date they resume working as they are not entitled to the payment when in work. Although the payment is closed from the day the person returns to work they will receive their final payment the following week as it is payable a week in arrears. Where a person will not receive a payment from their employer for a number of weeks they can apply for Supplementary Welfare Allowance. In order to qualify for Supplementary Welfare Allowance a person must undergo a means test and satisfy the schemes eligibility criteria.

I trust that this clarifies the matter.

Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent)
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506. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of pandemic unemployment payments cancelled to date due to not meeting the criteria to receive the payment in the first place; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14017/20]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Since the start of the pandemic unemployment payment on March 16th 2020, approximately 174,000 cases did not satisfy the conditions of payment for the reasons listed in the table below.

Note that this is a count of specific cases, and not a count of individual customers who have applied for but did not receive a PUP.