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People receiving the pandemic unemployment payment (PUP) should be looking for work, Taoiseach Micheal Martin has said.<\/p>\nPeople receiving the pandemic unemployment payment (PUP) should be looking for work, Taoiseach Micheal Martin has said.<\/p>\n
On Sunday the Department of Social Protection confirmed that 104 cases of PUP have been stopped, as a result of checks carried out at airports.<\/p>\n
The department said that if someone went on holiday abroad they would have to quarantine for two weeks when they return, which would affect their ability to look for work.<\/p>\n
Mr Martin said: \u201cThe pandemic unemployment is going on until next March, I think people on the payment should seek work while they\u2019re on the pandemic unemployment payment and many are.<\/p>\n
\u201cMany people are getting employment hence the numbers are coming down in recent months.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey should seek work and I think that is happening in the economy\u2026 as a general rule of thumb, we want people to come off the Pandemic Unemployment Payment on a progressive basis.\u201d<\/p>\n
Earlier, Social Protection Minister Heather Humphreys defended the Government\u2019s decision to stop social welfare payments for those who have traveled abroad for non-essential purposes.<\/p>\n
Ms Humphreys reiterated public health advice not to travel abroad except for essential reasons.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe public travel advice is to not travel abroad, and that applies to everyone.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor example we have 340,000 public servants in the country, and if any one of those chose to travel abroad, they would not be paid for the two-week quarantine when they return,\u201d she told RT\u00c9 radio.<\/p>\n
She said: \u201cThe point is, if you\u2019re on the unemployment benefit at this point in time, and if you don\u2019t have a job to go to, then you should be actively looking for other work.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ms Humphreys said anyone who is in receipt of the PUP, and who is found to be travelling for essential reasons, will continue to receive the payment.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the case of some sectors, for example if you work in a pub, we are hoping that you will be able to go back to your job, so you don\u2019t have to be looking for work in that situation.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut if you find that you\u2019re going to be permanently unemployed because your job isn\u2019t there, then you should be looking for work.\u201d<\/p>\n
Minister for Further and Higher Education Simon Harris said no-one should be travelling abroad on holiday, whether they receive the payment or not.<\/p>\n
\u201cI would say, as a former health minister, that my most important advice to people, whether you\u2019re on the Pandemic Unemployment Payment or not \u2013 you should not be going abroad right now.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think that is a message that we can\u2019t say enough, we have made really good progress together in relation to Covid-19.<\/p>\n
\u201cRather than getting down the rabbit hole of whether you are on the PUP or not \u2013 I don\u2019t want to see anybody going to an airport and going on a foreign holiday this year.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is far too important that we keep on top of this virus and get our kids back to school and get them back open at the end of August.\u201d<\/p>\n
Irish Council for Civil Liberties executive director Liam Herrick said the checks on passengers, to establish if they were in receipt of the PUP weekly payment of up to 350 euro, may be discriminatory.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s just advice for one section of the population, but it actually has the force of law for another section \u2013 those that are dependent on social welfare payments,\u201d Mr Herrick told RTE radio.<\/p>\n
He added: \u201cIt has changed the definition of what is an allowable holiday.\u201d<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Dublin Airport said on Monday that it does not collect data about any passengers.<\/p>\n
It tweeted: \u201cFor the avoidance of doubt, we can confirm that we are not sharing passenger data with any third party agencies. In fact, we have no access to such passenger data. We cannot comment on the actions of any third party agencies.\u201d<\/p>\n