Pandemic Unemployment Payment cut by €50 from today

The €50 cut to the Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP) will come into effect today, after the reduction was officially brought in last Tuesday.

The top two rates of the payment will be cut while plans to move some PUP recipients to standard jobseekers’ payments has been pushed back by a month from the end of September to late October.

Today’s reduction means that anyone receiving €350 weekly, will now receive €300.

Anyone receiving the payment at the €300 per week rate will now receive €250.

Meanwhile, anyone receiving €250 per week will now receive €250, the standard jobseeker’s rate.

In late October, any person on the €203 weekly rate will be moved to the jobseekers’ payment.

The change was initially slated for late September, but the Government agreed to push back the process until October 22.

“Work on the transition process will commence at the end of September when the department will write to all affected customers to outline the options available to them,” the Department of Social Protection said.

Last week, just over 140,000 people received the PUP, a decline of 3,468 from the previous week.

Two further PUP rate reductions are scheduled for November 16 and February 8 ahead of the scheme’s expected closure at the end of February 2022.