The Taoiseach has confirmed that the full pandemic unemployment payment will be extended past next week.
The Government introduced the scheme in March which offers €350 per week to any worker in Ireland who lost their jobs due to the health crisis.
At the peak of the pandemic, nearly 600,000 citizens were in receipt of the payment.
The Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection has been issuing payments to these workers valued at around €200million on a weekly basis.
However, those numbers have begun to drop as more and more people have been returning to work in recent weeks.
The support scheme is due to expire next Monday, June 8 - just as Ireland prepares to lift a second round of lockdown restrictions.
Leo Varadkar on Thursday confirmed the payments will extended, but there will be changes.
An official announcement will be made on Friday morning, but here is everything we know as of now.
When will it be extended?
The €350 pandemic unemployment payment will be extended after its June 8 expiry date, Leo Varadkar has confirmed.
An official announcement will be made on Friday, June 5.
For how long will it be extended?
The Taoiseach has yet to specify how long the full payment will go on for.
However, he insisted that it will be extended "for months" and not weeks.
Meanwhile, Sinn Fein's Pearse Doherty told RTE Radio One he believes it should be extended for the rest of the year.
He said recipients are being left in the dark and that they should know now that the payment will be available for all of 2020.
Who can still claim it?
Leo Varadkar said the full €350 payment will be there for everyone who was working full-time prior to the pandemic.
But part-time workers will have their payments cut.
Reports on Thursday morning suggest it could be cut by over 40% to €203.
The benefit is for "employees and self-employed people who have lost all their employment" due to the coronavirus.
What are Leo Varadkar's three assurances?
Leo Varadkar gave three assurance to those receiving the PUP - and said part-time workers will be earning more than what they were getting before the pandemic.
He told the Dail: "I want to give these three assurances to everyone in receipt of the payment today.
"First of all it will be extended, for months not weeks.
"Secondly, no one working full time before the pandemic will see their payment cut. It will stay at €350 a week.
"Some people who were working part-time will see their payment reduced, but their weekly payment will still be more than what they were earning on a weekly basis before the pandemic."
What if I'm returning to work soon?
If returning to work soon, citizens are being told to let the Department know by going to MyWelfare.ie
