With countless businesses across the country still shut due to the Covid-19 pandemic supports continue to be paid out to people hit by the lockdowns.
Level Five restrictions have meant that the Government has had to extend it's current Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP) in order to ensure that people are not left devastated by the measures
Currently some 437,000 people in receipt of the PUP many of whom are not in receipt of other social welfare payments.
As more people are opting out of the Pandemic Unemployment Payments, the Department of Social Welfare have announced that over 6,000 people have come off the payments since last week.
Construction is the sector that has seen the largest decrease in the number of people receiving PUP this week, with 1,591 fewer people receiving the payment compared to last week, the department confirmed.
However just because you are claiming the PUP it does not mean that you do not qualify for other social welfare payments.
For example, you may have been getting one of the following payments while you were working:
- Carer’s payments
- Disability Allowance
- Working Family Payment
- One-Parent Family Payment
- Jobseeker’s Transitional payment
A full list of payments can be found here.
People aged between 18 and 66, including students and non-EEA nationals can apply for the payment.
The Covid-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment will remain open to new applicants and continue to be paid until 30 June 2021.
To close your claim, you must do so via the My Welfare website..
It is also important to know you can lose your benefit for these three reasons;
