Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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130. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of applicants for the pandemic unemployment payment that did not receive payment in the week beginning 16 November 2020; the reason for this non-payment; if applicants will be assured that this will not happen again; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38947/20]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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A total of 350,072 individuals received payment of the Pandemic Unemployment Payment on 17 November 2020, an increase of 7,567 on the previous week. To date, over 13 million payments have issued since the commencement of the scheme in March of this year.

Following a number of queries regarding non-receipt of payments on 17 November, 636 cases were identified where payments had not issued as expected. Arrangements were subsequently made to ensure that replacement payments issued as quickly as possible. In addition, any person who required immediate financial assistance was able to avail of assistance through the Community Welfare Service.

The cause of the issue relates to software changes to put in an extension of the reference period for employee earnings to September 2020. This change meant that people who only commenced employment after February 2020 but have now been laid-off due to increased restrictions can have their payment rate fixed by reference to their earnings in the period January to September 2020. Subsequently, some 37,430 people receiving payment on November 17 saw an increase in their rate of payment.

The problem concerned related to a specific issue and corrective action was immediately taken. While it is obviously regrettable that it occurred in the first instance, this isolated incident should also be seen in the context of the overall continued successful delivery of payments every week.

I trust that this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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131. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of applicants for the pandemic unemployment payment that are due arrears as a result of the heavy workload in her Department; when they can expect to receive these payments; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38948/20]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Since the introduction of the Pandemic Unemployment Payment scheme in March, approximately 815,000 people have applied for payment and in some cases, they have done so on a number of occasions as they moved in and out of employment or where their employer availed of the Revenue Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme. Consequently, there are over 1.4 million applications to be examined to determine if arrears are due. To date, over 13 million individual payments have issued over a 36 week period.

Arrears in respect of the Pandemic Unemployment Payment will arise under two broad headings. Firstly, there may have been an initial time lag in the commencement of payments. During the month of March, my Department received and processed jobseeker claims equivalent in number to a three year claim-load. Almost 59,000 people were paid in the first week of the scheme, increasing to 283,000 people in the following week and over 507,000 people in the third week of the scheme. The focus was on putting claims into payment as quickly as possible was and it was not possible to generate arrears payments at the time. Secondly, arrears may also arise in respect of individual weeks where claims could not be processed due to incomplete applications or data mismatches.

My Department is keenly aware that many people are due some arrears and that every case will be different. In order to address an issue of this scale, my Department has developed an automated process, which will examine each case and look at their overall entitlement to payment and match this against their payment history. The work involved is complex as the Pandemic Unemployment Payment system itself evolved from a manual applications system to one where applications were submitted online and paid over two different payment platforms (one from March to July and the second from July to date). Final testing and implementation of the automated process is currently underway with a view to issuing payments before the end of the year and as soon as possible.

I hope that this clarifies matters for the Deputy.

Michael Fitzmaurice (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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132. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the reason arrears for a person (details supplied) for the Covid-19 pandemic unemployment payment are being deferred until January 2021; the reason the payments cannot be issued sooner; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38957/20]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Since the introduction of the Pandemic Unemployment Payment scheme in March, approximately 815,000 people have applied for payment and in some cases, they have done so on a number of occasions as they moved in and out of employment or where their employer availed of the Revenue Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme. Consequently, there are over 1.4 million applications to be examined to determine if arrears are due. To date, over 13 million individual payments have issued over a 36 week period.

Arrears in respect of the Pandemic Unemployment Payment will arise under two broad headings. Firstly, there may have been an initial time lag in the commencement of payments. During the month of March, my Department received and processed jobseeker claims equivalent in number to a three year claim-load. Almost 59,000 people were paid in the first week of the scheme, increasing to 283,000 people in the following week and over 507,000 people in the third week of the scheme. The focus was on putting claims into payment as quickly as possible was and it was not possible to generate arrears payments at the time. Secondly, arrears may also arise in respect of individual weeks where claims could not be processed due to incomplete applications or data mismatches.

My Department is keenly aware that many people are due some arrears and that every case will be different. In order to address an issue of this scale, my Department has developed an automated process, which will examine each case and look at their overall entitlement to payment and match this against their payment history. The work involved is complex as the Pandemic Unemployment Payment system itself evolved from a manual applications system to one where applications were submitted online and paid over two different payment platforms (one from March to July and the second from July to date).

Final testing and implementation of the automated process is currently underway with a view to issuing payments before the end of the year. The person concerned will be notified of any arrears owing as soon as possible.

I hope that this clarifies matters for the Deputy.

Michael Fitzmaurice (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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133. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the reason arrears for a person (details supplied) for the Covid-19 pandemic unemployment payment are being deferred until January 2021; the reason the payments cannot be issued sooner; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38958/20]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Since the introduction of the Pandemic Unemployment Payment scheme in March, approximately 815,000 people have applied for payment and in some cases, they have done so on a number of occasions as they moved in and out of employment or where their employer availed of the Revenue Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme. Consequently, there are over 1.4 million applications to be examined to determine if arrears are due. To date, over 13 million individual payments have issued over a 36 week period.

Arrears in respect of the Pandemic Unemployment Payment will arise under two broad headings. Firstly, there may have been an initial time lag in the commencement of payments. During the month of March, my Department received and processed jobseeker claims equivalent in number to a three year claim-load. Almost 59,000 people were paid in the first week of the scheme, increasing to 283,000 people in the following week and over 507,000 people in the third week of the scheme. The focus was on putting claims into payment as quickly as possible was and it was not possible to generate arrears payments at the time. Secondly, arrears may also arise in respect of individual weeks where claims could not be processed due to incomplete applications or data mismatches.

My Department is keenly aware that many people are due some arrears and that every case will be different. In order to address an issue of this scale, my Department has developed an automated process, which will examine each case and look at their overall entitlement to payment and match this against their payment history. The work involved is complex as the Pandemic Unemployment Payment system itself evolved from a manual applications system to one where applications were submitted online and paid over two different payment platforms (one from March to July and the second from July to date).

Final testing and implementation of the automated process is currently underway with a view to issuing payments before the end of the year. The person concerned will be notified of any arrears owing as soon as possible.

I hope that this clarifies matters for the Deputy.

Michael Fitzmaurice (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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134. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the reason arrears for a person (details supplied) for the Covid-19 pandemic unemployment payment are being deferred until January 2021; the reason the payments cannot be issued sooner; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38959/20]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Since the introduction of the Pandemic Unemployment Payment scheme in March, approximately 815,000 people have applied for payment and in some cases, they have done so on a number of occasions as they moved in and out of employment or where their employer availed of the Revenue Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme. Consequently, there are over 1.4 million applications to be examined to determine if arrears are due. To date, over 13 million individual payments have issued over a 36 week period.

Arrears in respect of the Pandemic Unemployment Payment will arise under two broad headings. Firstly, there may have been an initial time lag in the commencement of payments. During the month of March, my Department received and processed jobseeker claims equivalent in number to a three year claim-load. Almost 59,000 people were paid in the first week of the scheme, increasing to 283,000 people in the following week and over 507,000 people in the third week of the scheme. The focus was on putting claims into payment as quickly as possible was and it was not possible to generate arrears payments at the time. Secondly, arrears may also arise in respect of individual weeks where claims could not be processed due to incomplete applications or data mismatches.

My Department is keenly aware that many people are due some arrears and that every case will be different. In order to address an issue of this scale, my Department has developed an automated process, which will examine each case and look at their overall entitlement to payment and match this against their payment history. The work involved is complex as the Pandemic Unemployment Payment system itself evolved from a manual applications system to one where applications were submitted online and paid over two different payment platforms (one from March to July and the second from July to date).

Final testing and implementation of the automated process is currently underway with a view to issuing payments before the end of the year. The person concerned will be notified of any arrears owing as soon as possible.

I hope that this clarifies matters for the Deputy.

Michael Fitzmaurice (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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135. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the reason arrears for a person (details supplied) for the Covid-19 pandemic unemployment payment are being deferred until January 2021; the reason the payments cannot be issued sooner; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38960/20]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Since the introduction of the Pandemic Unemployment Payment scheme in March, approximately 815,000 people have applied for payment and in some cases, they have done so on a number of occasions as they moved in and out of employment or where their employer availed of the Revenue Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme. Consequently, there are over 1.4 million applications to be examined to determine if arrears are due. To date, over 13 million individual payments have issued over a 36 week period.

Arrears in respect of the Pandemic Unemployment Payment will arise under two broad headings. Firstly, there may have been an initial time lag in the commencement of payments. During the month of March, my Department received and processed jobseeker claims equivalent in number to a three year claim-load. Almost 59,000 people were paid in the first week of the scheme, increasing to 283,000 people in the following week and over 507,000 people in the third week of the scheme. The focus was on putting claims into payment as quickly as possible was and it was not possible to generate arrears payments at the time. Secondly, arrears may also arise in respect of individual weeks where claims could not be processed due to incomplete applications or data mismatches.

My Department is keenly aware that many people are due some arrears and that every case will be different. In order to address an issue of this scale, my Department has developed an automated process, which will examine each case and look at their overall entitlement to payment and match this against their payment history. The work involved is complex as the Pandemic Unemployment Payment system itself evolved from a manual applications system to one where applications were submitted online and paid over two different payment platforms (one from March to July and the second from July to date).

Final testing and implementation of the automated process is currently underway with a view to issuing payments before the end of the year. The person concerned will be notified of any arrears owing as soon as possible.

I hope that this clarifies matters for the Deputy.