Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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246. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if with the partial but incomplete opening of the performing arts sector and the uncertainty in relation to the sector she intends temporarily increasing the earnings cap for persons in receipt of the pandemic unemployment payment from the performing arts industry until the sector is totally reopened, particularly in view of the importance of the industry for mental health reasons and the number of planned but constrained autumn festivals that are also planned; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [44334/21]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The PUP was introduced as an exceptional measure for employees and the self- employed who lost employment as a direct consequence of Government mandated public health measures. To date expenditure on the scheme is almost 8.7 billion.

Since the gradual lifting of restrictions and the continuing progress on Covid-19 vaccinations, the need for exceptional measures has diminished as more and more employees close their PUP claims to return to work.

To allow as much time as possible for the economy to re-open and for employments to recover, the Government agreed to taper the payment over time between September 2021 and February 2022 to align it with the standard jobseeker payments.

This week, rate reductions have been introduced for those in receipt of the higher rates of PUP. Two further phases of rate changes are scheduled to take place from 16th November 2021 and 8th February 2022. 

The Government also agreed that PUP customers who were in receipt of the €203 rate prior to 14th September would transition to standard Jobseeker terms commencing in September. However, I have taken on board that some sectors, including the performing arts sector, will be slower to reopen and I have deferred the commencement of the transition process until after all sectors have started to reopen.  This is in line with the publication of the Government's Roadmap "Reframing the Challenge, Continuing Our Recovery and Reconnecting". This means that those affected customers will not see any changes to their PUP payments until after 26th October.

The deferral of the transition process also means that self- employed PUP customers in receipt of the €203 rate will be able to continue to earn up €960 from self -employment net of expenses, over 8 weeks without it affecting their PUP payment. Where they exceed this earnings cap and they are working as self -employed for up to 24 hours per week they may apply for the Part Time Job Incentive Scheme which was extended to the self- employed until the end of the current year.  Participants on the scheme receive a weekly payment of €128.60 and no income limit applies.

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 this year. A self-employed person 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.

I trust this clarifies the position for the Deputy.