Social welfare: All PUP recipients to be contacted individually as big change just weeks away

All remaining Pandemic Unemployment Payment recipients will be contacted this week ahead of major changes coming in March.

While thousands of people are still on the books for the Covid support, applications were closed on January 22 as the government opted to lift a vast number of restrictions.

Now that the easing is in full swing and just a few measures remain in place, officials are working to phase the Covid payment out entirely.

The final drop in the weekly sum of money will be seen on March 8, after this point, those who remain eligible will be moved over to the standard job seekers payment.

To ensure this is a smooth transition, the Department will contact each person individually to explain the steps they need to take in advance of March.

The sector with the highest number of people still receiving PUP this week is Accommodation and Food Service Activities with 14,765 past workers on the support, while 10,741 Wholesale and Retail Trade workers and 7,347 Administrative and Support Service remain on it.

Social welfare: All PUP recipients to be contacted this week as big change just weeks away (Gareth Chaney/Collins)

Speaking today, Minister Humphreys said: “Without doubt, the PUP has acted as a vital support since the onset of this Pandemic, having cushioned the incomes of hundreds of thousands of workers.

“In fact, over €9.1 billion has been paid out in PUP payments since the support was introduced.

“With the economy now fully re-open, it is welcome to see the number of people receiving the PUP fall over the past seven days, with further decreases expected in the weeks to come.

“In the meantime, we will continue to roll-out the suite of supports under the Government’s Pathways to Work Strategy, which will be key as we embark on our recovery from Covid-19.”

This week, the Department of Social Protection issued weekly payments valued at €16.96 million to 67,434 people in receipt of the Pandemic Unemployment Payment.

This shows a decrease of 7,979 on the number of people in receipt of the payment last week.

In addition, a further 4,881 people, who are receiving payment today, closed their PUP claim between January 31 and February 6, 2022.