CABINET WILL TOMORROW morning agree a multi-billion package aimed at stimulating the economy and phasing out supports like the Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP) and Employment Wage Subsidy Scheme (EWSS).

The PUP will be reduced by €50 from September and closed off to new applicants from July, as the country gradually reopens after the pandemic. 

The government has spent over €7.7 billion on the PUP to date.

The rate of the PUP is linked to previous earnings, with payments ranging from €203 to €350.

Tánaiste Leo Varadkar said that the government aims to end the support “cautiously”.

“It was always introduced as a temporary measure for the pandemic. So…we’re not going to phase it out too quickly,” he said.

He noted that, “Really at this stage, very few – if any – people are losing their jobs now as a consequence of the pandemic”.

The National Economic Recovery Plan will also set out the next steps for the other various State supports that have been rolled out to businesses since the pandemic began last year.

Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe and Public Expenditure Michael McGrath will bring forward proposals on how the government will spend €900 million coming from Europe through the Recovery Fund. Decisions will also be made on the future of tax warehousing and the extension of the rates holiday for businesses.

Varadkar has said the principle that the government is going to adopt is “doing all that we can” to make sure as many businesses can take on as many of their staff, or take back as many of their staff as possible. 

Other than business supports, it’s understood that a significant amount of funding will be provided through Solas and the Education and Training Boards, with thousands of places set to be announced to help unemployed people get back into work.