Tag Archives: PUP

THERE are still 1,735 people receiving the Pandemic Unemployment Payment in Clare, with latest figures also showing that 3,783 people were signing on the live register in October. The number receiving the PUP fell by almost 400 between October 19 and November 2, while it is way down from its peak in 2020 of almost 15,000. On the live register side, the October figure increased by 73 on September. The majority of people signing on in Clare (1,929) were attached to the Ennis Social Welfare office. The figure for Kilrush was 657, for Ennistymon it was 643, and for Tulla it was 554. Of those signing on in Clare, 2,031 were male and 1,752 were female. Despite more than 5,500 people getting unemployment supports, there are also labour shortages in a number of sectors. Cathaoirleach of Clare County Council PJ Ryan, a businessman himself, said that workers are in short supply. “Definitely there’s a major problem for businesses trying to …

THERE are still 1,735 people receiving the Pandemic Unemployment Payment in Clare, with latest figures also showing that 3,783 people were signing on the live register in October. The number receiving the PUP fell by almost 400 between October 19 and November 2, while it is way down from its peak in 2020 of almost 15,000. On the live register side, the October figure increased by 73 on September. The majority of people signing on in Clare (1,929) were attached to the Ennis Social Welfare office. The figure for Kilrush was 657, for Ennistymon it was 643, and for Tulla it was 554. Of those signing on in Clare, 2,031 were male and 1,752 were female. Despite more than 5,500 people getting unemployment supports, there are also labour shortages in a number of sectors. Cathaoirleach of Clare County Council PJ Ryan, a businessman himself, said that workers are in short supply. “Definitely there’s a major problem for businesses trying to …

THE number of people receiving the Pandemic Unemployment Payment in Clare dipped by just over 250 over the last week. According to figures from the Department of Social Protection there were 4,278 receiving the payment on Tuesday of this week, down from 4,529 seven days earlier. At one point in 2020 there were almost 15,000 people receiving the payment in Clare. While international travel may have been suspended, there are still many visitors taking ‘staycations’ in Clare, bringing money into Ennis and coastal areas of the county. The numbers receiving the PUP have been falling for some time and it has been closed to new entrants for the last three weeks. Minister for Social Protection Heather Humphreys said that numbers receiving the payment across the State have fallen and are continuing to fall as the economy reopens. “For the first time since its introduction, the number of people in receipt of the Pandemic Unemployment Payment has fallen below the 200,000 …

WITH the economy reopening the number of people receiving the Pandemic Unemployment Payment in Clare is on the way down, writes Owen Ryan. The numbers receiving the PUP dropped from 8,170 on May 25 to 6,408 on June 15, a decrease of more than 21%. At one point last year, there were almost 15,000 Clare people receiving it. The resumption of hospitality and non-essential retail in recent weeks has been a major factor in the numbers reducing. With further reopening expected over the course of the summer, the number claiming the state support is likely to drop further. Minister for Social Protection Heather Humphreys said that the figures are falling and the trend is likely to continue. “This week, we have seen another fall in the number of people receiving the Pandemic Unemployment Payment as we continue to make progress in reopening our economy and suppressing the virus. “In fact, there are now over 214,000 fewer people being supported by …

THE number of people receiving the Pandemic Unemployment Payment in Clare increased from 7,112 on January 5, to 8,261 on January 12. The number was under 6,000 as recently as December 22. Just 38 people closed the PUP payment to return to work between January 5 and January 12, while another 1963 people were medically certified for receipt of Enhanced Illness Benefit to January 12. In addition there were 4,922 people in Clare signing on the live register in December. Of these more than half, 2,732 were in Ennis. Another 782 were attached to the Kilrush Social Welfare Office, with another 763 at Ennistymon and 645 at Tulla. In a statement this week, the Department of Social Protection said that the number of people receiving the PUP increased over the last week and it is very likely that it will be higher again next week. “This week, the Department of Social Protection has issued weekly payments valued at €118.04 million …

THE amount of Clare people receiving the Pandemic Unemployment Payment dipped significantly between December 8 and 15. Clare’s economy has apparently benefited from the loosening of Covid-19 restrictions and increased spending close to Christmas, with the number of people receiving the payment dropping by more than 800 in a week from 7,398 to 6,539. The weeks before Christmas are the busiest time of the year for retailers, and in Ennis Liam Meaney, the manager of men’s clothes shop Club Dangan on O’Connell Street, said that business has been quite brisk of late. “Thankfully trade has been very good since we came back, we can’t complain at all, we’re delighted with it. “This year we’ve spent almost as much time closed as we’ve been open, but here between the two lockdowns we got our website going, so that helped us in the second lockdown. “We were behind closed doors posting out orders and doing click and collect, so that was a …

SEARCHES have been carried out in Clare and Limerick as part of an investigation into Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP) fraud offences. Since May 2020 The Department of Social Protection have engaged with An Garda Síochána investigating multiple Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP) fraud offences. The investigation has identified a suspected international organised crime group comprising of persons based in Ireland and other jurisdictions who have engaged in both identity and fraud offences to obtain PUP monies. A total of 28 individuals were identified as being active participants. On Wednesday a number of searches were conducted in Clare and Limerick in connection with this investigation. This is a joint operation involving Department of Social Protection Officials, Gardaí seconded to the Department of Social Protection, Customs and Excise Officials and Gardaí based in Limerick and Clare including Detectives, uniformed personnel, the Armed Support Unit and the Garda Dog Unit. A number of items including documentation and related material have been seized and are …

CLARE is among the counties hardest hit by the economic fall-out of the pandemic, a new report from the Central Bank and the Western Development has found. This county, along with eight others along the western seaboard, comprise what is called the Atlantic Economic Corridor (AEC). The research highlights the reliance in this county on very small businesses in sectors like tourism and cautions that this could affect economic recovery into the longer term. It also finds there are fewer job opportunities arising in Clare for those whose employment has ended due to Covid-19 restrictions. The report entitled, ‘The Regional impact of COVID-19: Western Region & Atlantic Economic Corridor,’ underlines the crucial role played by policies such as the Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP) and Employment Wage Subsidy Scheme (EWSS) in supporting household incomes and firms this county. “A concentration of jobs in consumer-facing sectors such as tourism and accommodation mean that workers in these counties have been adversely affected by …