COVID-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment
The COVID-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment (referred to as the PUP) is a government emergency aid program in the Republic of Ireland that provides monetary relief to those who face unemployment due to the COVID-19 pandemic, whether formerly employed or self-employed.

Anyone whose job vanished on (or after) 13 March 2020 as a result of the pandemic is eligible.

On 16 March, Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection Regina Doherty announced the COVID-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment, available for six weeks.

On 24 March, the amount of money distributed as part of the COVID-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment was increased from €203 per week to €350.

By the end of March, the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection announced that the total applications it received for the COVID-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment over the previous two weeks were equivalent to a 19-month claim load.

Doherty defended the scheme on "Today with Seán O'Rourke" on 3 April amid claims that some students were taking advantage: "By Jove, I know they’re going to spend in it in the economy when we re-open in couple of weeks or a couple of months time. It was a very small price to pay for the people that needed an income".

By early April, the Central Statistics Office (CSO) announced that a figure equivalent to more than one tenth of the country's population were unemployed, with more than half of that number receiving the COVID-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment. A spokesman for Goodbody Stockbrokers described it as "unprecedented". By the following week, the numbers receiving the COVID-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment had nearly doubled again from the previous week's total.

In April, the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection "inadvertently" emailed 1,700 people to inform them they were no longer eligible for the scheme.

On 6 May, Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe told "Morning Ireland" that the payment would continue "in some form" past its original intended date of ending.

On 11 May, it was reported that the number of people receiving the COVID-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment had slightly decreased for the first time since its establishment, though this was attributed to 
employees being offered the Temporary COVID-19 Wage Subsidy Scheme instead. A further slight fall occurred the following week.

On 19 May, Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe said a decision would be made "soon" regarding an extension of the payment. On 4 June, the Government of Ireland announced that the payment will be extended for "months, not weeks". The Irish Independent reported that the payment will be cut by 40% (from €350 to €203 per week) for part-time workers. On 5 June, Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection Regina Doherty announced that the payment would be extended until 10 August, and would be reduced for part-time workers from 29 June.

On 21 May, a young male was arrested at a house in Mullingar, County Westmeath, after it was determined that he had applied for six separate COVID-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payments.

On 23 July, as part of the July Jobs Stimulus package announced by the Government of Ireland, the payment was extended until April 2021 and intended to be gradually reduced to €203 per week over that period based on the pre-pandemic earnings of the claimant. The scheme would, at the time of this announcement, close to new applicants from 17 September.

On 15 September, Minister for Social Protection Heather Humphreys announced that the payment would accept new applicants until the end of the year, with rates going from two different ones to three on 17 September dependent on the amount of money the recipient previously earned.

On 19 October, the Government of Ireland confirmed that the payment would be restored to €350 for anyone who was earning more than €400 before they lost their job due to COVID-19 restrictions.

On 24 November, Minister for Social Protection Heather Humphreys secured Government approval to keep the payment open to new applicants until 31 March 2021.

Under the Government's new revised Living with COVID-19 plan published on 23 February 2021, the payment was extended until 30 June 2021.

On 1 June, as part of the Economic Recovery Plan announced by the Government of Ireland, the payment was extended until September 2021, when gradual reductions would begin.
Q27
Republic of Ireland
LOC
Q87186365
COVID-19 pandemic
Concept
Q97304428
Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection
PER
Q7308461
Regina Doherty
PER
Q4294697
Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection
ORG
Q55164955
Today with Seán O'Rourke
ORG
Q4649
Jove
MISC
Q2081788
Central Statistics Office
LOC
Q5583186
Goodbody Stockbrokers
UNK
Q4294945
Minister for Finance
PER
Q1271675
Paschal Donohoe
PER
Q6912839
Morning Ireland
ORG
Q96377224
Temporary COVID-19 Wage Subsidy Scheme
EVE
Q1672817
Government of Ireland
ORG
Q1590833
Irish Independent
MEDIA
Q97304428
Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection
PER
Q7308461
Regina Doherty
PER
Q55308
Mullingar
LOC
Q97656950
July Jobs Stimulus
UNK
Q1672817
Government of Ireland
ORG
Q97304428
Minister for Social Protection
PER
Q5693903
Heather Humphreys
PER
Q1672817
Government of Ireland
ORG
Q97304428
Minister for Social Protection
PER
Q5693903
Heather Humphreys
PER
Q1672817
Government
ORG
None
Living with COVID-19 plan
UNK
Q107261262
Economic Recovery Plan
UNK
Q1672817
Government of Ireland
ORG
Q96374205
COVID-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment
MEDIA
Q96374205
COVID-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment
MEDIA
Q96374205
COVID-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment
MEDIA
Q96374205
COVID-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment
MEDIA
Q96374205
COVID-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment
MEDIA
Q96374205
COVID-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment
MEDIA
Q96374205
COVID-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment
MEDIA
Q96374205
COVID-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment
MEDIA
2020-03-13T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
13 March 2020
DATE
2021-04-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
April 2021
DATE
2021-03-31T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
31 March 2021
DATE
2021-02-23T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
23 February 2021
DATE
2021-06-30T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
30 June 2021
DATE
2021-09-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
September 2021
DATE
-19^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#decimal
-19
NUMBER
-19^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#decimal
-19
NUMBER
+16^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#decimal
16
NUMBER
-19^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#decimal
-19
NUMBER
+24^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#decimal
24
NUMBER
-19^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#decimal
-19
NUMBER
+203^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#decimal
203
NUMBER
+350^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#decimal
350
NUMBER
-19^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#decimal
-19
NUMBER
+19^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#decimal
19
NUMBER
+3^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#decimal
3
NUMBER
-19^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#decimal
-19
NUMBER
-19^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#decimal
-19
NUMBER
+6^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#decimal
6
NUMBER
+11^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#decimal
11
NUMBER
-19^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#decimal
-19
NUMBER
-19^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#decimal
-19
NUMBER
+19^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#decimal
19
NUMBER
+4^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#decimal
4
NUMBER
+40^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#decimal
40
NUMBER
+350^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#decimal
350
NUMBER
+203^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#decimal
203
NUMBER
+5^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#decimal
5
NUMBER
+10^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#decimal
10
NUMBER
+29^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#decimal
29
NUMBER
+21^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#decimal
21
NUMBER
-19^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#decimal
-19
NUMBER
+23^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#decimal
23
NUMBER
+203^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#decimal
203
NUMBER
+17^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#decimal
17
NUMBER
+15^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#decimal
15
NUMBER
+17^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#decimal
17
NUMBER
+19^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#decimal
19
NUMBER
+350^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#decimal
350
NUMBER
+400^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#decimal
400
NUMBER
-19^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#decimal
-19
NUMBER
+24^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#decimal
24
NUMBER
-19^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#decimal
-19
NUMBER
+1^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#decimal
1
NUMBER
facet of
country
position held