Jobseeker’s payment into bank accounts ends after probe found higher risk of fraud in pandemic Investigation found fraud amounting to a €117 million loss to the state when the allowance was paid into recipients’ bank accounts during the pandemic
State inspectors cut PUP payments to more than 37,000 working claimants Pandemic payments were stopped after data-matching showed thousands were still claiming support while back at work
Data on insurers’ payout deductions won’t be published this yearGovernment has come under renewed pressure to recoup millions of euro deducted by insurance firms from Covid-19 compensation
Fleming to examine if British insurers’ pledge can be replicated in Ireland Junior minister has contacted UK counterpart to learn if commitment given by insurers not to strip value of pandemic-related state supports from awards can be applied here
Insurers asked to repay state money they deducted from awards to pandemic-hit firms Junior minister ‘hopes’ insurers give the money back but admitted the government has no means of enforcing that request
Taxpayers lose as insurers keep millions in state funds cut from Covid payoutsGovernment abandons promise to pursue firms for the value of any deductions made
Almost one in ten Pup recipients were ineligible, Public Accounts Committee to hear Department of Social Protection said it plans to scrutinise all Pup recipients for possible overpayment on the scheme
Government allocates just €75m to Pup in 2022Leo Varadkar has said phasing out of payment may have to be reviewed if more severe restrictions are reintroduced
Ministers to discuss renewing Covid supports for hospitality sectorCabinet sub-committee meets tomorrow to tackle thorny issue of how to shore up industry hit hardest by latest restrictions
Susan O’Keeffe: Support for SME sector and rapid booster rollout essential for next phase of pandemicWe can’t go back in time and start the boosters two weeks earlier, but pushing up the rate of vaccinations in the coming weeks must be possible and must be the absolute priority
PUP cost drops further as more staff return to workThe payment will be cut by €50 this week, and is due to be phased out in February of next year
Study finds 20,000 hospitality workers have moved to new jobs outside the sectorA government study looked at what happened to 515,000 workers after they signed off the pandemic unemployment payment
Government abandoned cutting PUP to ‘dual support’ students The pandemic unemployment payment as well as the Student Universal Support Ireland grant was being paid to 7,000 students studying remotely, but the government backed off cutting their PUP for fear of a backlash
Ian Guider: We can’t afford to delay the inevitable on state supportsThe extensive pandemic payments were necessary to keep firms afloat, but now we need to look at the new normal – and which businesses might not survive it
Ireland’s total household wealth has risen by €89bn in a yearCentral Bank says an increase in deposits and housing assets led to household net worth reaching €883 billion in first quarter but figures do not reflect distribution of wealth
Number of Pup recipients falls to lowest since March 2020 The number of people in receipt of the Pandemic Unemployment Payment was approximately 192,000 this week, a decrease of almost 10,000 on the previous week
PUP should be cut faster to get workers back, Isme saysGroup says lack of state guidance on companies’ right to staff vaccination status puts employers in an impossible position
Minimum-wage workers in Ireland among worst hit in Europe by Covid-19, ESRI findsSome 43 per cent of the lowest paid workers here are employed in the accommodation, food, wholesale or retail sectors which have been badly affected by the pandemic
More state debt needed to fund PUP past June, says VaradkarTánaiste tells Fine Gael TDs that the government needs to borrow more money to pay for further extensions to the pandemic supports
Unemployment rate stays above 24% as lockdown continuesCovid-19 youth unemployment rate is at 59 per cent, CSO figures show, as government announces €17 million fund to help struggling hospitality businesses provide outdoor dining
