Pa Daly (Kerry, Sinn Fein)
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927. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the reason a change was made to the Covid-19 PUP in respect of PRSI contributions; if she will report on the new operational guidelines; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33390/20]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The Covid-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment was put in place from 5 August 2020 as a social welfare benefit to help mitigate the adverse economic effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. It is available to employees who lost their employment on or after 13 March 2020 as a direct consequence of Covid-19. It is also available to self-employed people whose income from self-employment ceased or reduced as a direct consequence of the pandemic to the extent that they would be available to take up full-time employment.

The Covid-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment is payable where a person was an employed contributor in the week immediately before he or she ceased to earn an income from the employment concerned. Similarly, a self-employed person must have been in insurable self-employment in the week immediately before the date on which their self-employment income ceased or reduced. It is a long-standing feature of social welfare legislation that individuals who are engaged in employment or self-employment are liable to pay PRSI on those activities. In those circumstances, persons claiming the Pandemic Unemployment Payment should have no difficulty satisfying these conditions.

The Department uses earnings data supplied by the Revenue Commissioners for 2019 and 2020 in the case of employees, and 2018 and 2019 in the case of self-employed people. Data is updated as often as practicable, and in the case of employees on a daily basis. In cases where no evidence of PRSI contributions can be located, individuals are asked to submit proof of employment to the Department. When this is received and verified, claims are put into payment as soon as possible.

I hope that this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.