Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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891. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if Covid-19 supports will remain in place for certain sectors beyond September 2021; and her views on whether certain employment such as wedding bands will not be able to take up full employment again on the lifting of restrictions and will have to wait for bookings to start coming in. [31396/21]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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On 1^stJune Government announced its National Economic Recovery Plan to support the reopening of the country as it recovers from Covid-19. Government acknowledges that some sectors will continue to be impacted and the Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP) scheme will be extended beyond 30 June 2021 for existing claimants who continue to be eligible for payment. To allow as much time as possible for employment to recover, a transitional approach will be taken with PUP payments reduced on a tapered basis over 6 months from next September.

PUP will continue to be paid at existing rates until 7th September when the rate will commence a gradual reduction back to the jobseekers rate on a phased basis. Further adjustments are scheduled from 16 November 2021 and from 8 February 2022. As recipients are placed on to the €203 rate, they will be transferred to standard Jobseeker terms commencing from this September. This will be done over a period of time and with advance notice to individuals impacted.

Arrangements also remain for self-employed people to earn up to €960 gross over 8 weeks and retain PUP subject to entitlement to the payment. Similarly the Part Time Job Incentive, which permits self-employed people to take up limited employment up to 24 hours and retain a payment of €128.60 per week will continue on its current terms until the end of the year.

The €1,000 Covid-19 Enterprise Support Grant to assist self-employed people to restart their business will continue to be available to self-employed people closing PUP claims until the end of 2021. I recently announced that self-employed people closing their PUP claim to reopen their business will be able to avail of this grant even if they have previously claimed it as part of a reopening in 2020.

The PUP payment, similar to other Department of Social Protection statutory supports, is available to those who satisfy the conditions for the scheme and is not provided on a sectoral basis.

I trust that this clarifies the position for the Deputy.