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Covid-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment

Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 30 July 2020

Thursday, 30 July 2020

Ceisteanna (778)

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin

Ceist:

778. Deputy Aodhán Ó Ríordáin asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number or estimated number of workers affected by the policy which states that employed and self-employed incomes cannot be combined in the same year for purposes of assessment for the pandemic unemployment payment resulting in them receiving the lower rather than the higher payment amount; and her views on this policy. [19566/20]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Freagraí scríofa

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. 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.

Changes were announced to the structure of the pandemic unemployment payment which means that it continues to be a strong support but is also fair and targeted. Payment is now linked to prior earnings, using their most recent earnings, where possible, as the basis for any revision. 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 gross average weekly income for 2018 is used to calculate the rate of the pandemic unemployment payment, the last tax year for which complete verifiable data on self-employed income is available.

Where a person is an employee their gross average weekly income for either 2019 or the months of January and February 2020 was used, whichever was the more favourable. Information in respect of both these periods is readily available from the Revenue Commissioners.

Combining employee and self-employed income could potentially reduce average weekly earnings in the case of employee earnings, particularly where an employee has relatively small amounts of self-employment income, as the respective earnings would then be assessed over a full year. The nature of self-employment is such that it is not possible, for Revenue and PRSI purposes, to attribute self-employment income to any particular week, and earnings are assessed on a full-year basis.

The figures requested by the Deputy are not readily available at this time as it would involve extensive data matching across multiple IT systems.

I hope that this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.

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