Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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1041. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the reason a pandemic unemployment payment ceased for a person (details supplied); if the payment will be reinstated; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [15875/21]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The COVID-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment  (PUP) is available to employees and the self-employed who have lost their job on (or after) March 13 2020 due to the COVID-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic as per the scheme criteria.  The person concerned had been in receipt of weekly PUP payments in 2020 since the start of the pandemic until she returned to work in July 2020.  

When the employment of the person concerned ended again in October, and subsequent PUP applications were received, payment could not be awarded as no verifiable records of self-employment were available to the Department from the Revenue Commissioners.  The Department only accepts earnings which have been notified to Revenue and subject to PRSI, and the most recent records available from Revenue are used by the Department to determine the PUP rate payable.

I can advise the Deputy that the self employment records for 2019 for the person concerned have now been made available to Revenue, and to this Department; and a PUP payment has been put in place, with the first weekly payment, including arrears, due on 30/03/2021.

I trust that this clarifies the matter.