Emer Higgins (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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433. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if a self-employed person can maintain their pandemic unemployment payment if they undertake three days employment and are paid as a PAYE worker for those three days but remain under the €960 over eight weeks threshold; and if not, the reason for the rescinding of the pandemic unemployment payment in these circumstances. [57380/21]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP) is available for employees and self-employed people who have lost employment and satisfy the scheme's statutory conditions. Expenditure on PUP since its introduction last March 2020 has now exceeded €8.9 billion.

To satisfy the eligibility conditions for PUP, a person cannot be engaged in insurable employment. This applies to both employees and the self-employed. A self-employed person should close their PUP if they are engaged in PAYE insurable employment.

There is flexibility provided to the self-employed to take up and receive payment for occasional or intermittent self-employment work while retaining their PUP. This measure has assisted people to maintain their business during the pandemic and provides that a person can earn up to €960 from self-employment over a previous eight week period.

A self-employed person has the option of applying for means tested Jobseekers Allowance where they are engaged in employment. Where they are no longer operating as self-employed, they may avail of Jobseekers Benefit for the self-employed if they are engaging in PAYE employment up to 3 days per week and satisfy the scheme's eligibility conditions.

I trust that this clarifies the position for the Deputy.