Ireland. Over 1 MILLION people now claiming social protection payments
The number of people now claiming some form of social protection payment has exceeded 1m after another 50,000 people received the COVID-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment.
The Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection has issued the €350 weekly payment to 584,000 people who have lost their jobs as a result of the coronavirus, adding to the 212,000 people in the Live Register.
A further 46,000 employers have signed up to the newly expanded wage subsidy scheme, with over 281,200 employees having been paid through the scheme.
There are also 32,000 people that have been medically certified to receive the COVID-19 enhanced Illness Benefit, primarily people who have been advised by their GP to self-isolate, although a number of recipients have also been diagnosed with coronavirus.
The latest updates brings the total number of people who have drawn down state income support during the emergency to an estimated 1,109,200.
Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection Regina Doherty said the fact that over 1m people are now receiving state income support was ‘a situation unparalleled in our nation’s history’.
Read more @Extra ie
