Neale Richmond (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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957. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of persons who availed of the pandemic unemployment payment due to a lack of childcare; the breakdown of same by gender and by county; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13897/21]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The Pandemic Unemployment Payment Scheme is available to employees and self- employed people who have lost their employment and the income from that employment due to the pandemic, and who satisfy the other qualifying conditions of the scheme.

From the outset of Covid-19, many employers will have taken the initiative, in line with requests from the Government, to be as flexible as possible in giving staff time off and working patterns that enable them to look after their children who are not attending school or crèche. Employers have a general duty of care towards their workers and that care is often expressed in the form of negotiation, compromise and flexibility. Some of the options to be considered for workers with caring responsibilities that preclude them from working their normal hours or patterns include allowing employees to work from home, altering shifts or allowing employees to rearrange holidays or parental leave.

Any employees affected by the lack of childcare are strongly encouraged to engage with their employer in the first instance with a view to exploring all options available to enable them to return to, or continue with, work where possible.

Where a person in these circumstances is not able to avail of another leave or benefit and as a result of the latest public health measures no longer have childcare, their claims for the Pandemic Unemployment Payment have been accepted and processed on that basis. This position will remain under review over the coming period as schools and childcare supports continue to re-open.

To date, almost 910,000 individuals have applied for the Pandemic Unemployment Payment since it was established, many on more than one occasion. The detailed statistics requested by the Deputy are not available.

I trust that this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.