Update and county breakdown released on Covid-19 pandemic payments

The Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection has today issued payments valued at €209.3m to 598,000 people arising from their application for the Covid-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment. 

Around 11,000 people are receiving a payment for the first time.
 
There are now over 52,000 employers who have registered with the Revenue Commissioners for the Temporary Covid-19 Wage Subsidy Scheme. The payments are in addition to the approximate 205,000 people who were on the Live Register at the end of March.  
 
All Covid-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment payments issued will be in recipients’ bank accounts or at their local post office today (Tuesday), May 2. 
 
In Westmeath, 11,700 people were in receipt of the pandemic unemployment payment by May 5. In Roscommon, meanwhile, the figure was 7,100.

Regarding enhanced illness benefit, 700 people in Westmeath and 600 in Roscommon have been medically certified for receipt of this payment.

The enhanced illness benefit predominantly relates to applications in respect of people who have been advised by their GP to self-isolate, together with a smaller number of applications of people who have been diagnosed with Covid-19.
 
Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection, Regina Doherty said: “The Covid-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment was introduced at speed for maximum impact so that we could help as many people as possible during what is an unprecedented, once in a century, health emergency. The fact that so many have been moved into payment so quickly is a testimony to the agility and innovation my Department has demonstrated to respond to this crisis.
 
“We need to respond to the post-pandemic challenge with the same qualities and with a similar impact. Already, on Saturday, the Government announced a suite of measures to further support small, medium and larger businesses to restart, reconnect and rehire staff who have been laid off or furloughed.
 
“However, as our recent Working Paper on the initial impacts of the pandemic on our labour market demonstrated, some sectors have suffered more than most – particularly retail and hospitality." 

Minister Doherty said her officials "are now planning the necessary further supports and initiatives we will need to put in place to ensure that the thousands of workers who have been displaced can return to work as quickly as possible".

"We are determined that this short term health crisis will not be a long-term economic one for all those workers and families who have been affected,” she added.
 
Covid-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment
In total (since launch on March 16), and excluding duplicate claims, the Department processed applications from 694,000 people for the Covid-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment or a jobseeker’s payment.  
 
As is the case for all social welfare schemes, the Department conducts a series of pre and post payment checks.  

For example, integrity checks are 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. 
  
Following the application of such checks and controls, the Department has this week paid 598,000 people out of the 694,000 unique claims processed, with the vast majority of these claims were paid within a week of receipt.
  
The Department said it is continuing to resolve any issues, such as invalid IBANS or PPSNs, with legitimate applications and will be contacting the people concerned directly over the next few days. People are reminded to take care when submitting applications, to ensure that critical information such as dates of birth, PPSN and IBANs are entered correctly. Any errors by individuals in submitting their incorrect IBAN or PPSN will cause their application to be rejected by the Department.             
 
Temporary Covid-19 Wage Subsidy Scheme
There are now over 52,000 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.
 
The Department is aware that some workers may be incorrectly registered as part of the TWSS or may face difficulty in transitioning back from the pandemic unemployment payment to the employer payroll. Any worker affected by these issues can contact the Department and arrangements will be made to restore their payment or provide them with interim income support as appropriate.
 
The Department advises that the quickest and easiest way to submit an application is through its online portal - www.MyWelfare.ie.