Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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218. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the reason social welfare offices cannot deal with payment anomalies that have arisen regarding the emergency Covid-19 pandemic unemployment payment until 10 August 2020 when the payment officially ceases; and her plans to extend the payment beyond 10 August. [19270/20]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The emergency Covid-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment has been introduced as a time-limited emergency measure so that payments can be made as quickly as possible to the large number of people who have become fully unemployed due to the pandemic.

During the month of March, my Department received and processed jobseeker claims equivalent in number to a three year claim-load. These applications were processed as quickly as possible, with almost 59,000 people paid in the first week of the scheme, 283,000 people paid in the following week, and over 507,000 people in the third week of the scheme.

Currently, the Department is focused on processing and managing payments to ensure that they continue to be made to all who qualify for them. The work involved in doing this is complex, with people joining and leaving the scheme each week, along with management of overlaps between the Covid-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment and the Revenue Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme. To date, over 8.7 million payment items have issued.

The Department is aware that many people are due some arrears and that each person’s case is unique. The Department is currently developing an automated process which will examine each case and match a person’s eligibility for each week of the scheme against their payment history. This is a complex piece of work.

It will take time to complete the necessary development work to enable the review cases and determine what, if any, arrears are due. I can assure the Deputies that all cases will be examined and where arrears arise they will be processed and claimants will be notified.

I hope that this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.

Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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221. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the way in which, and-or the method that will be used, to calculate earnings in order to apply the pandemic unemployment payment to persons in view of the change in rates and tiers to the payment; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [19338/20]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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As part of the Government's July stimulus package announced last week, the pandemic unemployment payment has been extended to 1 April 2021. From 17 September 2020 until 31 January 2021 the Pandemic Unemployment Payment will be paid at 3 rates. The payment rate will continue to depend on the amount previously earned.

For employees, their gross weekly earnings will be used to determine the rate of pandemic unemployment payment. The approach used is that average gross weekly earnings in 2019 and in January and February 2020 as received from Revenue are examined. The higher of the two amounts is then used.

For self-employed people the rate is based on their gross average weekly income for 2018 which is the last tax year for which complete data on self-employed income is available.

Any person who feels that the assessment of their earnings, based on returns already submitted to Revenue, is inaccurate can ask for a review of their case with further details available on www.gov.ie.

I trust that this clarifies the matter.