Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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493. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of childcare and early years education workers who are availing of the enhanced illness benefit. [31347/20]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Under the Health (Preservation and Protection and other Emergency Measures in the Public Interest) Act 2020 (No. 1), the Government, having regard to the manifest and grave risk to human life and public health posed by the spread of Covid-19, extended the provisions of the Social Welfare Acts to provide for entitlement to illness benefit for persons who have been diagnosed with, or are a probable source of infection with Covid-19. The purpose of the enhanced Illness Benefit payment in respect of COVID-19 is to encourage people to not go to work due to financial constraint when they should be in isolation.

As of November 25th 2020 there have been of 78,300 claimants for the enhanced Illness Benefit, and 74,700 of these have received payment. Sectoral data indicates that approximately 1,100 workers in pre-primary education and child day-care activities have been in receipt of an enhanced Illness Benefit payment since the introduction of the scheme.