The Government has said it will reopen the pandemic unemployment payment (PUP) scheme at the top €350 rate to people who lose their jobs because of reintroduced Covid-19 restrictions.
It will also consider raising the €5,000 a week cap on financial support for large businesses affected by reintroduced Covid-19 restrictions in the coming days.
Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe and Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform Michael McGrath signalled the extension of Government financial supports to people affected by new restrictions announced on Friday and set to come into effect tomorrow (Tuesday).
Mr Donohoe said the PUP scheme was being reopened and a targeted version of the Covid Restrictions Support Scheme (CRSS) was being introduced for hospitality businesses.
The Employment Wage Subsidy Scheme (EWSS) was not being reopened because it was an “economy-wide”measure, and Government was not able to vary it for special sectors, he said.
CRSS will be used to support businesses whose trade is significantly affected and will involve a payment of 12 per cent of turnover for qualifying businesses affected by the new restrictions.
Asked about large hotels that will lose far in excess of €5,000 a week from the restrictions, Mr Donohoe said that for “some particularly larger businesses who are large employers” the €5,000 a week cap “may need revision” and this would be looked at “in the next few days”.
The Government was “in a different place” with Covid-19, and needed to look at targeted “sector by sector” supports rather than general supports for the wider economy.
Current modelling showed CRSS for hospitality businesses will cost €15 million a week.
New entrants
Mr Donohoe told Newstalk’s On The Record radio programme the PUP would be reopened to new entrants at the higher rate of €350 – currently not available to other PUP recipients – to people who “now find their employment has gone nearly overnight”.
He referred to nightclub workers who will be out of work after their sector’s closure was announced again. Tighter restrictions on the number of people who can eat indoors and attend indoor entertainment and sporting events are also being applied from Tuesday until January 9th.
“We appreciate that there are a group of workers in a really important part of our hospitality sector in particular, who are finding themselves unemployed again all over again within a year, and we have a particular responsibility to them,” said Mr Donohoe.
Existing PUP recipients will remain on the lower amounts of €250 and €203 a week currently being paid.
Almost 55,000 people were receiving PUP at the end of November.
