Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 23 July 2020
170. Deputy Steven Matthews asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if consideration will be given to amending the qualifying criteria for the pandemic unemployment payment in particular in relation to the year that income is reviewed to calculate the payment rate (details supplied). [17700/20]
Amharc ar fhreagra182. Deputy Brian Stanley asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if the anomaly will be addressed in the pandemic unemployment payment for taxi drivers that having had proven earnings in excess of €350 per week in 2019 are now on the reduced rate of €203; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [17949/20]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 170 and 182 together.
The COVID 19 pandemic unemployment payment was introduced as an emergency measure to meet the surge in unemployment which resulted from the effects of the Coronavirus pandemic. This week my Department issued payments valued at €97 million to 313,800 people for the pandemic unemployment payment. This represents a decrease of almost 100,000 in the last 2 weeks.
To be eligible for the pandemic unemployment payment a person must have been in employment immediately prior to the 13th March and lost their income from employment due to the onset of the pandemic. Self-employed people must have suffered a collapse in their trading income to the extent that they are available to take up other full-time work.
A two-level payment structure to link the pandemic unemployment payment to gross prior earnings was recently introduced so that it remains a strong support but is fair and targeted. Where an employee's gross weekly earnings were €200 or higher there is no change to their rate of payment. If their gross weekly earnings were under €200 the rate of the pandemic unemployment payment was adjusted to €203. Where a person is self-employed their average weekly income for 2018 was used to determine their rate of payment for the pandemic unemployment payment. This is the last tax year for which complete data on self-employed income is available.
Any person who feels that the assessment of their earnings, based on returns already submitted to Revenue, is inaccurate can ask for a review of their case with further details available on www.gov.ie.
Where an individual’s rate is reduced to the flat rate €203 per week and their family circumstances are that they have adult or child dependents it may be more financially beneficial to apply for a jobseekers payment. The jobseeker’s benefit and jobseeker’s benefit for the self-employed schemes provide a social insurance contribution-based support for people who have lost work and are unable to find alternative full-time employment. If a person does not meet the qualifying conditions of the scheme they may be eligible to apply for the means tested jobseeker’s allowance scheme. The maximum weekly rate of payment for these schemes is €203 and increases may also be paid for any qualifying adults and children.
The Enterprise Support Grant has recently been extended and will be made available to small business owners who transition from the pandemic unemployment payment to re-open their business. The grant, of up to €1,000, will be payable to self-employed micro enterprises which employ fewer than 10 people, have an annual turnover of less than €1 million and are not eligible for support from the COVID 19 Business Restart Grant or other similar business reopening grants. The Department is developing the systems to put it into effect and will communicate how to access the grant in the coming weeks.
The Government has set employment recovery as its top priority and a key element of the July Stimulus Package will be enhancing the supports available to people who lost their employment to assist people back into work.
I trust that this clarifies the matter.
