Access to rent supplement for victims of domestic violence extended to the end of the year
Rent supplement can be provided for an initial three-month period and the usual means test does not apply.
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Rent supplement can be provided for an initial three-month period and the usual means test does not apply.
A person in receipt of this payment will not be required to be available for full-time work.
The scheme has cost the State over €5 billion since last March.
A bilateral agreement covers a range of different benefits including those for sickness, parents, pensions and unemployment.
Minister Heather Humphreys said applications would be processed “without delay”.
There are just over 300,000 people in receipt of the pandemic unemployment payment.
The move aims to help those who want to take up occasional intermittent work without losing their payment,
Some cases progressed more slowly due to their complexity and due to inadequate or inaccurate information provided.
Following a decision in September, the PUP was due to close to new applications on 31 December.
A right to disconnect regulation is also under review.
Some 37,430 people receiving the Covid-19 PUP this week will see an increase in their rate of payment.
The minister for social protection said the rise in the number of PUP recipients was expected given the Level 5 restrictions in place.
The announcement that those on the PUP in December will receive a Christmas bonus was part of Budget 2021 announced today.
The move was welcomed by An Post and the postmasters union.
Minister for Social Protection Heather Humphreys said 122,000 low-paid workers would benefit from the increase.
Social Protection Minister Heather Humphreys said the money will have to be paid back.
The PUP will move from two rates of payment to three rates, and the top rate is being reduced.
Changes to payment rates will still go ahead as planned on 17 September.
Anybody who is eligible but did not confirm it can have the payment restored by re-applying online.
The scheme has been extended to include families on the Pandemic Unemployment Payment.
Minister Heather Humphreys said that the aim was to “increase footfall in rural towns and villages” during the pandemic.
Around 10,000 people appealed after having their PUP reduced from €350 to €203 a week.
It comes after a review of 2,500 people who’ve had their payment stopped.
The Dáil passed legislation this evening that gave the payment a legal basis and said that those in receipt of it must be “genuinely seeking” work.
The decision to cut welfare payments after recipients’ holidays abroad has been criticised by TDs as unfair, misguided and discriminatory.
Concerns have been raised about the impact the measures will have on businesses as the country re-opens.
ISME says businesses are ‘bleeding out cash’.
The HSA can order a business to shut down operations if it doesn’t comply with the measures.
Minister Heather Humphreys said some businesses may have closed when there was no need to.
Labour’s Brendan Howlin said businesses fear being held liable for their employees or their customers becoming victims of Covid-19.
Another package of business supports will be announced shortly, said Minister Heather Humphreys.
The supports aim to help with liquidity issues experienced by businesses.
The scheme will be provided by the Irish Red Cross on behalf of the government.
The Taoiseach hit the road to Monaghan.
From next week, shoppers will be able to use more than one voucher per transaction.
Yesterday the queen approved a request to suspend UK parliament next month.
The law would give workers the right to avoid emails out of hours.
The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission is to probe into the increasing levels of public liability insurance premiums.
Speaking yesterday, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the UK will “do a new deal, a better deal”.
The move will see the company’s Irish workforce expand by two thirds.