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ELIGIBILITY FOR THE Pandemic Unemployment Payment has now been extended to people living in Direct Provision after they were originally excluded from the scheme.
The payment has been made available this week to people live in Direct Provision centres, as well as applicants for international protection who live outside of the Direct Provision system.
Liz Canavan, Assistant General Secretary at the Department of the Taoiseach, said that the payment is “payable where a person meets the conditions of the scheme: they must have been in employment immediately before 13 March, lost their employment because of the pandemic and are not in receipt of income from their employer”.
In a speech on Tuesday evening, Taoiseach Micheál Martin said that people living in Direct Provision would be treated the same as citizens in relation to Covid-19 social protection.
“Following reports that there was an issue with people in Direct Provision settings being reluctant to come forward for tests because of fear of losing income, we have decided that, lest there be any doubt, Direct Provision residents will be treated the same as any other citizen in terms of social protection supports when it comes to Covid-19,” Martin said.
Speaking to TheJournal.ie, Bulelani Mfaco, spokesperson for the Movement of Asylum Seekers in Ireland (MASI), said that the organisation was disappointed the government had not originally included Direct Provision residents in the scheme.
One group particularly impacted has been parents with children living in Direct Provision, who have depended on charitable donations while homeschooling their children during the closure of schools, Mfaco said.
“We hope that it will be backdated because a lot of people impacted by the pandemic in Direct Provision would have been working and contributing like anybody else in the country,” he said.
CEO of Nasc, an Irish migrant and refugee rights organisation, Fiona Finn said that the decision earlier in the year to “exclude asylum seekers who were living in direct provision from accessing the Pandemic Unemployment Payment was unjust and discriminatory”.
Speaking to TheJournal.ie, Finn said that Nasc had been approached by direct provision residents who were “devastated by the loss of income from employment which they and their families had been relying on as well as by employers who were deeply concerned about the welfare of their employees and very uncomfortable that their asylum-seeking employees were being treated differently to their other employees”.
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“Some direct provision residents simply couldn’t afford to stop working, particularly those whose families outside of Ireland were entirely reliant on their income, and felt they had to jeopardise their own health and continue to go from a high-risk workplace to a congregated accommodation setting,” Finn said.
“With the recent Covid-19 clusters, we are now seeing the public health consequences of this decision.”
The Covid-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment has been made available to employees and people who are self-employed who lost their job since 13 March due to the pandemic.
Applications for the payment are due to close on 17 September. After that, new applicants seeking support will be directed to other social welfare schemes, and the rate of payment will gradually change until the PUP ends in April 2021.
From 17 September, three rates of payment will be introduced for people receiving PUP. People who previously earned less than €200 a week will receive €203, people who earned between €200 and €300 will receive €250, and those who earned over €300 will receive a payment of €300.
By April 2021, the payments rates are due be tapered back to the standard jobseeker payment of €203 a week.
Direct Provision residents receive a weekly allowance, known as the Daily Expenses Allowance, of €29.80 for children and €38.80 for adults.
In May, the Irish Refugee Council requested that the government increase the weekly allowance by €20 during the pandemic.
In response, former Minister of Employment and Social Protection Regina Doherty said that “any increases to the rate of Daily Expenses Allowance would have to be approved by Government and considered in a budgetary context”.
Doherty said that there were “no plans to grant entitlement to the Covid-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment for those in receipt of Daily Expenses Allowance”.
There are around 4,700 adults and 2,000 children living in Direct Provision in Ireland.
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And yet homeless people can’t get any social welfare unless they have an address. Goes to show were the priorities lie in this country. How long do they have to be in DP before they can work? I read on another article that it can take up to a year before they can. The whole thing should not take more that 1 year, 1 original application and if refused 1 appeal, if that’s refused sent back. That way if genuine let them work and live here happily.
@Olivia Smith: You think that will happen? Not a snowballs chance. Too many vested interests profiting from refugees. DP centre owners, legal representation, NGOs and so forth. It’s quite the little booming industry.
@Daniel Dunne: Yep and the people here put up with it. It’s sicken to see people in the street here, especially in winter it breaks my heart. At least in these Centers they have food, water, heat and a bed that’s not made of concrete. And I know people are going to say they fled for their lives but not all of them are genuine. I’d like to see the do gooders on here swap places with a homeless person for one night to see what it’s like.
@Olivia Smith: why can’t we do both? We spend much more on Homelessness than we do on DP centres. Do you not think the people on the streets are offered beds?
what does “do gooders” swapping places with a homeless person have to anything?
@Olivia Smith: some in DP are Irish citizens already but cannot leave DP because they cannot find accomodation in the rental market despite job and HAP
@Hector Son: it means, walk a day in my shoes before you judge me. Ie: more people on this site think the homeless make that choice for themselves . Yes they may be offered beds but a lot of the times they don’t feel safe where thy are, plus they have to make a phone all every night to see if a bed is available and then have to walk the streets all day the next day until the time comes to make the call again. Groundhog Day. People in DP don’t have to do that. I said if they are genuine yes leave them live happily here, if not genuine send them back after 1 year. If there was not so much spent on legal fees for the constant appeals there would be much more money to spend in the homeless.
@Olivia Smith: you know they can actually claim benefits without an address and have been able to for years. The PSC made it a lot easier. So not sure where you read it can take a year to get it.
@Olivia Smith: I agree with what you say but would like to point out homeless can get social welfare if they either sign on daily or alternatively last year An Postand the Government announced they can use local Post Office address in order to avail of social welfare, unless this has changed since was rolled out last year….. But the daily signing option has always been there.
@Sam Glynn: And how many of these have access to a pc as was needed to use the An Post service. I think that they should have had a PC with free access in all post offices for them to use, plus someone to help them fill in the form. They shouldn’t have to sign in anywhere every day to get state aid.
Have I missed something here. Why would anyone be living in direct provision and in employment at the same time.
Also if one is applying for asylum, why do you need to bother if allowed to work here anyway.
It flies in the face of all Europeans whos countries have to meet certain criteria to be part of the EU and benefit from unrestricted travel and labour opportunities.
@Vladimir Macro: also, how in the name of God does it make sense to provide the same benefit to those who have all accommodation and food provided and all bills paid by the taxpayer as to those who are expected to maintain mortgages, rent, bills, food etc?
How does it make any sense any why the fk are we (taxpayers) expected to foot the bill for it??
@Rob Gleeson™: Have you seen any of the centres first hand? Compared to the war stricken places they have come from (Syria/Iraq/Afghanistan..) yes, I would say ‘living the dream’ compared to back home.
We didn’t have to take them in but we did even though there isn’t enough housing for our own people.
@SiKi: people from those 3 countries u mentioned are not even in the top 6 nationalities claiming asylum here, the top 2 nationalities claiming asylum here are 2 safe European countries
@Paul Mc: yea they really are living the dream alright. Catch onto yourself. I’d love to see if you had the same attitude after spending one week in one of those centres.
It was always my understanding that people in DP were not allowed to work. If that is not, or was never, the case I’m okay with that. I think they should be allowed to work and pay taxes. For some, be able to work is about mental health and a sense of worth.
If those that did work are now out of work, let them have the PUP. It’s to help workers affected by loss of income. There are plenty of Irish government artists who have never worked a day in their lives. Let’s not make it about Irish people Vs DP and who’s most deserving. How is a lazy Irish person who is allergic to a day’s work more entitled than a refugee/asylum seeker who wants to work and make a contribution?
That being said, if your only income was €39 and the crisis didn’t change that then you shouldn’t be getting more.
@KSham: I think the law was changed and the people seeking asylum can work if they can earn over €35k, or something similar. However, there are still a lot of people living in DP centres who have received asylum here. They are still in the centres because of the housing crisis. People in the meat factories where average wages are at minimum wage are just above and who are living in DP centres could now be Irish citizens and should be entitled to the same benefits as everyone else regardless of where they live
@Anne Marie Devlin: the majority of people in dp are allowed work for any wage at any job bar the civil service, only those who have been denied asylum within 9 months are not allowed work and the average wait for a first decision is 16 months
@Lughnasa Healy-Rae-Nua: So they wont have the stamps built up to receive such payments kinda like if you went travelling and came back here you’re not entitled to the PUP.
@Anne Marie Devlin: The stipulation that the refugee had to be in a job earning over €30,000 per annul has long been rescinded. Now they can earn “minimum wage” and this suits certain employers so much that they run busses to the DP centres and bring them to work. I’d love to see one of their wage slips to see if there is a massive “transport reduction”.
@Vladimir Macro: Another thing I don’t understand is if they are not legal here yet how do they pay tax? You can’t just rock up to the tax office and ask for a PPS number. So if that’s the case they should not be getting social welfare from the state.
A good move if it helps stop workers reporting to work for fear of losing a day to 14 days pay. However, the owners of businesses who do not cover sick pay have massively contributed to the enforced spread of the virus in their factories. It’s hard to blame someone who has to work in order to provide an income for their families. Accommodation owners also need to ensure that they provide adequate space for quarantine due to the overcrowded conditions
Before making comments, please look up the 2 official gov websites that cover asylum seekers in Ireland, look at the statistics for those that are found to be genuine and those that are not. I cannot put that in this comment or put in the links for both sites as for some reason it will be deleted by the journal.
@Thomas Sheridan: Sure some people who lived here from other EU countries and had kids here then went home can still get children’s allowance from Ireland. Bleeding joke of a country.
This is sickening. They did everything they could. They accepted whatever jobs were available to them, got up early and did their jobs, paid their taxes and ran the same risks as anyone else working here. Of course they should be treated the same as anyone else who contributed in the same situation. And thanked for helping to keep the economy going.
I don’t see why they don’t first, fix the flood gates and put a proper system in place.
And then have an amnesty for everyone in DP, rubber stamp them, and be done with it (rather than wasting years of people’s lives and obscene amounts of tax payers money) with the proviso on obtaining employment and integrating with our society within a year, or have the right to stay withdrawn.
Then let’s use the money and public services tied up in this to address our homeless.
Can someone explain how people in DP are allowed to work? If they have free accommodation, food and a subsidy, (which is what DP is?) is this not what they receive until their immigration status is regularised? How can they work also while getting everything free – i’m obviously ignorant to something here ?
@willow moon: do you mean 66? Only reason they won’t have a pension is if they didn’t pay enough contributions or earn too much to get non contributory pensions? Not sure who you are talking about?
If they were working, paying tax and lost their jobs they should get the payment. And please stop dragging the homeless situation into it, the crisis is the fault of our idiot government and refugees competing for houses Is not a factor. If we implemented the seizure of empty houses like they’re doing in Barcelona there would be a few zeros knocked off the homeless figures. But hey, the government are happy for you to point the finger at anyone but themselves
The send-em-home begrudgers here almost certainly had relations who at some point were in a similar situation in the UK or America as these asylum seekers are in now.
It’s sad how we forget…
@Lorraine Mac Rory: I’m saying it’s amazing how many of our asylees come from what are deemed safe countries of origin almost as if they were economic migrants who claim to be refugees as a way of circumventing our immigration system
What’s with this floodgates mindset, for every 11,000 refugees on Earth we host 1. Lebanon is just over twice the size of Donegal and a sixth of its pop are refugees
Irish natives get the same payment, except they have to pay for all the home utilities. Living in direct provision everything is free. This new policy will encourage more Asylum seekers to come to Ireland. Is it any wonder that the Irish natives are annoyed the way our taxes are spent, when it is already established that most of the claims are fraudulent and no one gets deported ie very few.
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