ALMOST 28,000 PEOPLE have had their Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP) stopped after they failed to confirm with the Department of Social Protection that they were still eligible to receive it. 

The department provided an update on the PUP this evening and said this move comes after it contacted recipients for several weeks about whether they were still entitled to the payment. 

The department said that approximately 390,000 PUP recipients were contacted “via email, SMS and via their MyWelfare account” and that a “large scale advertising campaign” was also launched.

The majority of people confirmed their continued eligibility for the payment but the department says that at the beginning of last week 29,000 had not done so. 

People were given a final week to do so ahead of a 9 August deadline and “just over 1,000″ did in that period. 

“The remainder will not receive a payment tomorrow as their PUP claim remains closed,” the department said in a statement this evening. 

The department adds that anybody who is still eligible but did not confirm their eligibility by the deadline can have their payment restored by re-applying online.

Minister for Social Protection Heather Humphreys said this eventing that “every effort” was made to contact those affected. 

“Our resources are not unlimited and we need to ensure that this money goes to the people and families who genuinely need it,” she said. 

My department has made every effort to contact every person receiving the payment in recent weeks in order to confirm their continued eligibility. The vast, vast majority of people responded and will continue to receive their payment as normal.

“I want to stress if there were extenuating circumstances which prevented any person from responding to confirm their eligibility, all they need to do is re-apply online to have their payment restored,” she added. 

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Update

The department has also said it has this evening issued PUP payments valued at €72.2 million to 232,400 recipients. 

Over the past seven days, 9,700 people have closed their PUP claim and some 4,300 will be receiving their final payment tomorrow.

The PUP rate is paid at €203 a week to about a quarter of recipients and €350 per week to three-quarters.