Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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100. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if more time can be given to allow a requested employer letter to be submitted in support of a pandemic unemployment payment application by a person (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5379/22]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP) was introduced as one of a number of measures to provide income support to those who had lost their employment as a result of Covid. Other supports include the Covid-19 Enhanced Illness Benefit payment, which is available to persons who have diagnosed with Covid-19 or instructed by a Doctor or the HSE to self-isolate.

The Covid-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment scheme closed to new applications on 8 July 2021.

The scheme re-opened from 7 December 2021 to support persons who had lost their income from employment on or after that date as a result of the decision to temporarily impose restrictions on the trading of certain business sectors to slow the spread of Covid-19.

These restrictions had a particular impact on sectors such as hospitality, the night-time economy, and the arts and entertainment sectors.

The re-opening of the scheme was specifically targeted at persons who were directly affected by the trading restrictions introduced on 7 December 2021. It did not involve a general re-opening of the scheme.

The person concerned was in receipt of Enhanced Illness Benefit from 23 November to 28 December 2021. They also applied for the Covid-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment indicating that they had last worked on 3 December 2021.  The person’s employer is based in the healthcare sector. A formal decision has not yet been made on the person’s entitlement to the Covid-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment.

My Department has been in contact with the person concerned to clarify the background to their loss of employment and the date to which they were last paid by their employer. Payroll submissions from their employer to the Revenue Commissioners include payments in December 2021 and January 2022. Based on information supplied by the person concerned, it appears that the person was unable to return to employment as their employer had allocated their work to other employees. Further information has been sought from the person concerned at which time a formal decision will be made. The information can be supplied by email and no decision will be made while a response is outstanding. In the event that the Covid-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment is not payable, the person may have an entitlement to Jobseeker’s Benefit.  

I trust that this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.