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Update on payments awarded for COVID-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment and Enhanced Illness Benefit

232,400 receive Pandemic Unemployment Payment this week

Overall numbers have dropped 61% since peak on 5 May

€72.2 million to be paid in PUP payments tomorrow

PUP recipients who have not confirmed their continued eligibility are no longer receiving payment

Today the Department of Social Protection issued payments valued at €72.2 million to 232,400 people for the COVID-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP). This represents a decrease of 30,100 on the 262,500 people paid last week and a 61% drop on the 598,000 paid at its peak on 5 May.

In the past seven days, 9,700 people have closed their claim for a Pandemic Unemployment Payment. Some 4,300 will be receiving their final payment tomorrow, 18 August.

The top three sectors in which employees are returning to work this week are Accommodation and Food Services; Wholesale and Retail Trade, Repair of Motor Vehicles and motorcycles; and Construction.

The largest cohort returning to work is in the under 25 age group.

Confirmation of Eligibility

Over the past number of weeks the Department of Social Protection has, as part of the process of assuring the integrity of PUP payments, contacted everyone (approx. 390,000) receiving the Pandemic Unemployment Payment asking them to confirm their eligibility to continue to receive the payment. This is standard practice for people receiving unemployment payments.

Notifications were issued directly to PUP recipients via email, SMS and via their MyWelfare account informing them of their need to confirm their continued eligibility. These direct communications were supported by a large scale advertising campaign on national and local media which included over 730 print and broadcast adverts as well as a comprehensive communications campaign on social media. The vast majority of people did confirm their eligibility.

At the beginning of last week, there were approximately 29,000 individuals who had not confirmed their continued eligibility despite having received personal notifications on four separate occasions, the final one being in the week ending 9 August. Just over 1,000 of these did confirm their continued eligibility by the deadline on Friday, 14 August and they will continue to receive their payment. The remainder will not receive a payment tomorrow as their PUP claim remains closed. However, anybody who is eligible but did not confirm their eligibility by the deadline can have their payment restored by re-applying online at MyWelfare.ie. As applications for the Pandemic Unemployment Payment were submitted online, PUP recipients will be familiar with MyWelfare.ie however if any person is unsure or needs advice, they can contact the department at 1890 800 024 for assistance.

Minister for Social Protection, Heather Humphreys, TD, commented:

“The Pandemic Unemployment Payment continues to be a vital source of income for thousands of individuals and families across the country.

“That’s why I took the decision to extend the payment until April 2021 as the government continues to roll out measures aimed at getting people back to work.

“While I know people are frustrated and going through a difficult time, it’s more important than ever that we continue our efforts to protect ourselves, our families, our colleagues and our communities.

“Last week has clearly shown that the virus is persistent and continues to affect us with increasing numbers contracting it. We cannot take unnecessary risks which could reverse the significant progress we have made.”

The Minister continued:

“Our resources are not unlimited and we need to ensure that this money goes to the people and families who genuinely need it.

“My department has made every effort to contact every person receiving the payment in recent weeks in order to confirm their continued eligibility. The vast, vast majority of people responded and will continue to receive their payment as normal.

"I want to stress if there were extenuating circumstances which prevented any person from responding to confirm their eligibility, all they need to do is re-apply online to have their payment restored. They can also contact the department's PUP Helpline at 1890 800 024 or their own local Intreo Centre if they need assistance."

The easiest way for people to apply for the Pandemic Unemployment Payment is online at MyWelfare.ie. When applying, people should provide the name of their employer and details of their last day of employment.

As well as those availing of the COVID-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment, there are now over 69,500 employers who have registered with the Revenue Commissioners for the Temporary COVID-19 Wage Subsidy Scheme (TWSS). An estimated 370,000 employees are currently being supported by the scheme having received a subsidy in their most recent pay period.

The above payments are in addition to the 244,600 people who were reported on the Live Register as of the end of July. All COVID-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payments issued will be in recipients’ bank accounts or at their local post office tomorrow, Tuesday, 18 August.

Payment Rates

Employees whose average weekly earnings in 2019 or January and February 2020 (whichever is the higher) were less than €200 gross will receive a weekly Pandemic Unemployment Payment of €203 a week. This equates to the standard jobseeker rate of payment and as it is higher than the person’s prior earnings will still mean that people, who receive €203 per week, are in receipt of a higher income than they had prior to being laid-off due to COVID-19.

Employees with average earnings of €200 or more a week will continue to receive €350 Pandemic Unemployment Payment with almost 3 in 4 recipients continuing to receive €350 per week.

Some 61,750 people will receive the €203 rate of payment this week which is 9,457 less than last week. The majority of people – 170,650 - will continue to receive the €350 rate of payment, which is 20,635 less than last week; however these figures should be looked at in the context of the number of people who didn’t confirm their eligibility as they were requested to do by noon last Friday.

Any person, including any self-employed person, who believes that their new payment rate does not accurately reflect their prior earnings can contact the department to request a review of earnings and forward all supporting documents, which will be matched with Revenue records.

They can contact the department by:

  • emailing PUPRerate@welfare.ie
  • writing to Pandemic Unemployment Rerate Requests, DEASP, Intreo Centre, Cork Road, Waterford
  • calling 1890 800 024

Payments to self-employed people have been assessed, in the first instance, based on their 2018 returns to the Revenue Commissioners (Returns for 2019 are not due until later in 2020). However, if a person has submitted their 2019 returns to Revenue and they consider that these are more beneficial, they can request a review of their PUP rate of payment from the department. The department will examine each case using the updated 2019 Revenue tax information and if the person has average earnings of €200 or more their payment will be increased to the higher rate of €350 per week. The department will process applications for review as quickly as possible.

People returning to work

In the past week, some 9,700 people closed their claim for the Pandemic Unemployment Payment of which 7,000 reported that they were returning to work. Of those 7,000 returning to work, some 4,300 are receiving their last payment this week. As the Pandemic Unemployment Payment is a weekly payment paid in arrears, there can be a one week lag in how closures, due to people returning to work, are reflected in the payment data. The reduction in the number of people in receipt of the Pandemic Unemployment Payment will, therefore, be reflected in next week’s figures.

The top three sectors in which employees are returning to work this week are Accommodation and Food Services (1,500); Wholesale and Retail Trade, Repair of Motor Vehicles and motorcycles (1,000); and Construction (700). A full breakdown of the sectors in this area is set out at Appendix 7 below.

The age profile of employees returning to work this week shows that the largest cohort are those in the under 25 age group (1,700), followed by the 35–44 age group (1,600), followed by those employees in 25-34 age group (1,500); and those aged 45-54 (1,200) also returning to work. Full details are available at Appendix 8.

The number of Pandemic Unemployment Payment recipients who closed their claim since the start of Phase 1 (18 May) and who are currently availing of the Temporary COVID-19 Wage Subsidy Scheme (TWSS) is 92,100 compared to 90,600 this time last week, the biggest increase being in the Accommodation and Food Services sector.

The department continues to remind workers who are returning to work that they must close their claim for the Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP).

In order to ensure that their claim is processed correctly, workers who are returning to work must close their claim for the PUP payment on the actual date that they start back at work. Since the commencement of Phase One of the government’s Roadmap for Reopening Society and Business, over 296,000 employees have closed their claims and returned to work.

The easiest way to close a claim for the Pandemic Unemployment Payment is online via MyWelfare.ie. Any worker returning to work with an enquiry about closing their claim, can contact the department’s dedicated income support helpline at 1890 800 024 (Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm).

Industries that remain closed

Where, due to ongoing restrictions, a person’s employer has not restarted operations or where a sector is still temporarily closed the department will continue to support the workers concerned through payment of the PUP.

COVID-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment Checks

As is the case, for all social welfare schemes and as part of the department’s normal work, the department conducts a series of pre and post payment checks for the COVID-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment, including:

  • integrity checks made against records already held by the department including Public Service Information data and cross checks with payments on other schemes. These help to verify if a person is who they claim to be and that they are entitled to claim payment
  • a reconciliation process between the department’s payment file and Revenue’s payment file for the Temporary COVID-19 Wage Subsidy Scheme
  • a prior employment status check by comparing all claims for PUP against prior earnings and employment records from Revenue data
  • as with other welfare schemes, the department contacts recipients to ensure that they continue to satisfy the eligibility criteria of the COVID-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment. At the start of July the department required all PUP recipients to confirm their eligibility in order to continue to receive the payment and issued several reminders to customers (See above)
  • data analytics

Temporary COVID-19 Wage Subsidy Scheme

There are now over 69,500 employers who have registered with the Revenue Commissioners for the Temporary COVID-19 Wage Subsidy Scheme (TWSS). Workers whose employers have registered them on the scheme are not eligible to receive a Pandemic Unemployment Payment. In addition workers who were in receipt of the Pandemic Unemployment Payment but who have now been registered by their employers on the TWSS are no longer eligible to receive a Pandemic Unemployment Payment.

COVID-19 Enhanced Illness Benefit Payment

Since the beginning of August, 77 people have been medically certified with having COVID-19 while 823 others have been medically certified because they are medically self-isolating.

To date 55,100 people under age 66 have been medically certified for receipt of the COVID-19 Enhanced Illness Benefit. Just over 7% (4,126) have been diagnosed with COVID-19 while almost 93% (50,974) were required to medically self-isolate.

There are 960 people currently receiving a COVID-19 related Enhanced Illness Benefit payment.

The sector with the highest number of employees medically certified to receive COVID-19 Illness Benefit continues to be the Human Health and Social Work sector (12,000) followed by Wholesale and Retail Trade (11,700) and Manufacturing (7,600). Full details are at Appendices 11, 12 and 13.

MyWelfare.ie

The department wishes to thank its customers for submitting the majority of applications through our online portal MyWelfare.ie. This is the quickest and easiest way to submit an application or close a COVID-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment.

In the interests of the public health advice and observing social distancing people are asked, if at all possible not to attend their local Intreo Centre. Instead, they should avail of the online services available through MyWelfare.ie.

Appendices

  • Appendix 1 - Analysis of Pandemic Unemployment Payments by County
  • Appendix 2 - Pandemic Unemployment Payments by Sector
  • Appendix 3 - Pandemic Unemployment Payments by Age Profile
  • Appendix 4 - Pandemic Unemployment Payment Rates by gender
  • Appendix 5 - Pandemic Unemployment Payment Rates by age
  • Appendix 6 - Analysis of People who Closed their PUP Claim to Return to Work
  • Appendix 7 - Analysis of Closed Pandemic Unemployment Payments by Sector
  • Appendix 8 - Analysis of Closed Pandemic Unemployment Payments Age Profile
  • Appendix 9 - Analysis of Pandemic Unemployment Payments recipients who closed their claim since start of Phase 1 and who are currently receiving the Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme Sector breakdown
  • Appendix 10 – Age Profile of people who closed their Pandemic Unemployment Payment to return to work since 18th May and receiving Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme
  • Appendix 11 - Enhanced Illness Benefit Payments by County
  • Appendix 12 - Enhanced Illness Benefit Payments by Sector
  • Appendix 13 - Enhanced Illness Benefit Payments Age Profile

Appendix 1 - Analysis of Pandemic Unemployment Payments

There are 232,400 people in receipt a Pandemic Unemployment Payment of which 111,700 are female and 120,700 are male.

County Breakdown

County Number of people in receipt of a Pandemic Unemployment Payment on 18 August Number of people in receipt of a Pandemic Unemployment Payment on 11 August Number of people in receipt of Pandemic Unemployment Payment on 5 May
Carlow 2,600 3,000 7,800
Cavan 3,100 3,600 9,700
Clare 5,100 5,800 14,600
Cork 22,100 25,000 61,900
Donegal 7,200 8,100 22,700
Dublin 80,500 91,500 174,200
Galway 12,400 13,900 32,300
Kerry 7,200 8,200 22,200
Kildare 11,200 11,900 26,100
Kilkenny 3,500 4,000 10,600
Laois 3,300 3,600 8,600
Leitrim 1,400 1,500 4,100
Limerick 9,000 10,100 22,300
Longford 1,600 1,900 4,500
Louth 7,000 8,000 17,300
Mayo 5,500 6,000 16,400
Meath 9,300 10,500 25,000
Monaghan 2,800 3,300 8,200
Offaly 3,300 3,500 8,900
Roscommon 2,400 2,800 7,100
Sligo 2,700 3,000 7,700
Tipperary 6,700 7,600 18,800
Waterford 4,900 5,600 14,100
Westmeath 4,100 4,700 11,700
Wexford 6,100 7,000 20,500
Wicklow 7,000 8,000 18,700
County not included 400 400 2,000
Total 232,400 262,500 598,000

Appendix 2 – Pandemic Unemployment Payments - Sector Breakdown

The sector with the highest number of people in receipt of the Pandemic Unemployment Payment is Accommodation and Food Service Activities (49,300), followed by Wholesale and Retail Trade (33,100) and Administrative and Support Service activities (23,600). The largest weekly drop was in Accommodation and Food Service activities (5,800).

Industrial Sector Number of people in receipt of Pandemic Unemployment Payment on 18 August Number of people in receipt of Pandemic Unemployment Payment on 11 August Number of people in receipt of Pandemic Unemployment Payment on 5 May
Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing; Mining and Quarrying 3,200 3,800 8,600
Manufacturing 12,600 14,300 37,400
Electricity, gas supply; Water supply, sewerage and waste management 900 1,000 2,100
Construction 17,400 22,100 79,300
Wholesale and Retail Trade; Repair of Motor Vehicles and motorcycles 33,100 37,200 90,300
Transportation and storage 9,700 10,600 17,900
Accommodation and food service activities 49,300 55,100 128,500
Information and communication activities 6,900 7,600 11,800
Financial and insurance activities 6,100 6,600 12,500
Real Estate activities 3,500 3,900 8,100
Professional, Scientific and Technical activities 11,800 12,900 24,800
Administrative and support service activities 23,600 26,400 45,800
Public Administration And Defence; Compulsory Social Security 5,700 6,200 14,400
Education 14,600 15,500 22,000
Human Health And Social Work activities 10,000 11,100 22,500
Arts, entertainment and recreation 6,400 6,900 14,200
Other Sectors 10,400 12,100 39,200
Unclassified or unknown 7,200 9,200 18,600
Total 232,400 262,500 598,000

Appendix 3 – Pandemic Unemployment Payment - Age Profile

Age category Number of people in receipt of Pandemic Unemployment Payment on 18 August Number of people in receipt of Pandemic Unemployment Payment on 11 August
< 25 47,700 53,800
25-34 52,300 59,300
35-44 51,700 59,000
45-54 44,100 49,900
55+ 36,600 40,500
Total 232,400 262,500

Appendix 4 – Pandemic Unemployment Payment Rates breakdown by gender

There are 61,750 people receiving €203 this week, while the remainder (170,650) are receiving a payment of €350.

Gender Number of people in receipt of €350 on 18 August Number of people in receipt of €203 on 18 August
Male 91,750 28,950
Female 78,900 32,800
Total 170,650 61,750

Appendix 5 – Pandemic Unemployment Payment Rates breakdown by age

Age category Number of people in receipt of €350 on 18 August Number of people in receipt of €203 on 18 August
< 25 31,900 15,800
25-34 42,300 10,000
35-44 39,450 12,250
45-54 32,000 12,100
55+ 25,000 11,600
Total 170,650 61,750

Appendix 6 – Analysis of Closed PUP payments to return to Work

Around 7,000 people who have closed their account for return to work since 8 August will receive a Pandemic Unemployment Payment tomorrow, 18 August. Of these, 3,600 are male and 3,400 are female.

County Breakdown

County Number of people who closed their Pandemic Unemployment Payment from 18 August Number of people who closed their Pandemic Unemployment Payment from 11 August Number of people who closed their Pandemic Unemployment Payment from 4 August
Carlow 100 100 100
Cavan 100 200 100
Clare 200 200 200
Cork 600 800 1,000
Donegal 300 300 300
Dublin 2,000 2,300 2,200
Galway 400 500 500
Kerry 200 300 300
Kildare 300 400 400
Kilkenny 100 200 200
Laois 100 100 100
Leitrim 50 100 100
Limerick 300 300 300
Longford 50 100 100
Louth 200 300 200
Mayo 200 200 200
Meath 300 300 300
Monaghan 100 100 100
Offaly 100 100 100
Roscommon 100 100 100
Sligo 100 100 100
Tipperary 200 200 300
Waterford 200 200 200
Westmeath 200 200 200
Wexford 200 300 300
Wicklow 200 300 200
County not included 100 100 100
Total 7,000 8,400 8,300

Appendix 7 – Closed Pandemic Unemployment Payments - Sector Breakdown

The top three sectors from which employees closed their Pandemic Unemployment Payment in the week ending 18 August are Accommodation and Food Service Activities (1,500); and Wholesale and Retail Trade; Repair of Motor Vehicles and motorcycles (1,000), and Construction (700).

Industrial Sector Number of people who closed their Pandemic Unemployment Payment from 18 August Number of people who closed their Pandemic Unemployment Payment from 11 August
Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing; Mining and Quarrying 100 100
Manufacturing 600 500
Electricity, gas supply; Water supply, sewerage and waste management 0 0
Construction 700 700
Wholesale and Retail Trade; Repair of Motor Vehicles and motorcycles 1,000 1,100
Transportation and storage 200 300
Accommodation and food service activities 1,500 2,300
Information and communication activities 300 300
Financial and insurance activities 200 200
Real Estate activities 100 100
Professional, Scientific and Technical activities 300 400
Administrative and support service activities 500 600
Public Administration And Defence; Compulsory Social Security 200 200
Education 300 300
Human Health And Social Work activities 300 400
Arts, entertainment and recreation 200 300
Other Sectors 300 400
Unclassified or unknown 200 200
Total 7,000 8,400

Appendix 8 – Closed Pandemic Unemployment Payments – Age Profile

Age category Number of people who closed their Pandemic Unemployment Payment from 18 August Number of people who closed their Pandemic Unemployment Payment from 11 August
< 25 1,700 1,900
25-34 1,500 2,100
35-44 1,600 1,800
45-54 1,200 1,500
55+ 1,000 1,100
Total 7,000 8,400

Appendix 9 - Analysis of Pandemic Unemployment Payments Recipients who closed their claim since start of Phase 1 and who are currently receiving the Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme (TWSS) – Sector Breakdown

Since the start of Phase 1 on 18 May, 92,100 people have closed their claims for the Pandemic Unemployment Payment for reasons of returning to work and are currently being subsidised by the government's Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme (TWSS). Of this total 49,300 are female and 42,800 are male.

The top three sectors from which people closed their Pandemic Unemployment Payment who are currently receiving the Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme are Accommodation and Food Service Activities (34,800); Wholesale and Retail Trade; Repair of Motor Vehicles and motorcycles (16,900) and Construction (9,400).

Industrial Sector Number of people who closed their Pandemic Unemployment payment for return to work reasons since 18 May and receiving the TWSS on 18 August Number of people who closed their Pandemic Unemployment payment for return to work reasons since 18 May and receiving the TWSS on 4 August
Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing; Mining and Quarrying 500 600
Manufacturing 6,200 7,900
Electricity, gas supply; Water supply, sewerage and waste management 100 100
Construction 9,400 10,400
Wholesale and Retail Trade; Repair of Motor Vehicles and motorcycles 16,900 18,700
Transportation and storage 1,200 1,300
Accommodation and food service activities 34,800 35,100
Information and communication activities 700 700
Financial and insurance activities 600 500
Real Estate activities 1,300 1,300
Professional, Scientific and Technical activities 2,200 2,600
Administrative and support service activities 2,400 2,700
Public Administration And Defence; Compulsory Social Security 400 400
Education 1,200 1,100
Human Health And Social Work activities 2,600 2,800
Arts, entertainment and recreation 2,900 2,400
Other Sectors 8,600 8,200
Unclassified or unknown 100 100
Total 92,100 96,900

Appendix 10 - Age Profile of people who closed their Pandemic Unemployment Payment to return to work since 18 May and receiving TWSS

Age category Number of people who closed their Pandemic Unemployment Payment for return to work reasons since 18 May and who are in receipt of the Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme at 18 August
< 25 21,800
25-34 22,300
35-44 22,500
45-54 15,800
55+ 9,700
Total 92,100

Appendix 11 - Analysis of COVID-19 Enhanced Illness Benefit

There are 55,100 people medically certified for receipt of a COVID-19 related Illness Benefit payment, of whom 30,700 are female and 24,400 are male.

For 900 people the date of their first certificate was issued in August 2020, of which 77 have been certified for COVID-19.

The following Table shows the number of people medically certified for meeting the conditions for receipt of a COVID-19 Enhanced Illness Benefit payment, by start date entered on the medical certificate.

The number of people medically certified with having COVID-19 is given in brackets and is included in the weekly overall figure shown.

Certificate start date As at 18 August
Before March 2020 200 (7)
March 2020 31,100 (993)
April 2020 14,500 (2,027)
May 2020 5,000 (766)
June 2020 1,500 (127)
July 2020 1,900 (129)
August 2020 (to date) 900(77)
Total 55,100 (4,126)

County Breakdown (based on the county recorded on the Illness Benefit certificate)

County Number of people who are medically certified for receipt of Enhanced Illness Benefit on 18 August Number of people who are medically certified for receipt of Enhanced Illness Benefit on 11 August
Carlow 700 700
Cavan 1,400 1,400
Clare 1,000 1,000
Cork 6,200 6,200
Donegal 1,200 1,200
Dublin 15,800 15,600
Galway 3,300 3,300
Kerry 1,100 1,100
Kildare 2,900 2,700
Kilkenny 1,100 1,100
Laois 1,000 900
Leitrim 200 200
Limerick 1,900 1,900
Longford 500 500
Louth 1,700 1,600
Mayo 1,400 1,300
Meath 2,100 2,100
Monaghan 900 800
Offaly 1,000 900
Roscommon 900 900
Sligo 500 500
Tipperary 1,800 1,800
Waterford 1,700 1,600
Westmeath 1,000 1,000
Wexford 1,800 1,800
Wicklow 1,700 1,700
Other (NI & Foreign Address) 300 300
Total 55,100 54,100

Appendix 12 – COVID-19 Enhanced Illness Benefit - Sector Breakdown

The sector with the highest number of people medically certified for receipt of a COVID-19 Illness Benefit payment is Human Health and Social Work (12,000), followed by Wholesale and Retail Trade (11,700) and Manufacturing (7,600).

Industrial Sector Number of people who are medically certified for receipt of Enhanced Illness Benefit on 18 August Number of people who are medically certified for receipt of Enhanced Illness Benefit on 11 August
Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing; Mining and Quarrying 500 500
Manufacturing 7,600 7,400
Electricity, gas, steam supply; Water supply; Sewerage, waste management 300 300
Construction 2,100 2,100
Wholesale and Retail Trade; Repair of Motor Vehicles and motorcycles 11,700 11,500
Transportation and storage 2,200 2,100
Accommodation and food service activities 2,300 2,200
Information and communication activities 900 900
Financial and insurance activities 2,300 2,300
Real Estate activities 500 500
Professional, Scientific and Technical activities 1,800 1,800
Administrative and support service activities 5,500 5,300
Public Administration And Defence; Compulsory Social Security 2,200 2,200
Education 900 900
Human Health And Social Work activities 12,000 11,900
Arts, entertainment and recreation 300 300
Other Sectors 1,600 1,500
Unclassified or unknown 400 400
Total 55,100 54,100

Appendix 13 – Enhanced Illness Benefit - Age Profile

Age category Number of people medically certified to receive Enhanced Illness Benefit on 18 August
< 25 6,400
25-34 13,400
35-44 15,500
45-54 11,700
55+ 8,100
Total 55,100

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