Muireann Duffy
A total of 1,320,837 people have received some form of Covid-19 income support since their establishment in March 2020, when the pandemic first took hold here.
Data from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) shows that up to the week ending May 2nd, 863,546 people received the Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP), the support given to those who were unable to work due to the closure of businesses in line with Government Covid restrictions.
An infographic showing the breakdown of Covid-19 income supports. Image: Central Statistics Office (CSO).
The Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme (TWSS), is estimated to have supported 664,098 workers for at least one week between March and August 2020, while its replacement, the Employment Wage Subsidy Scheme (EWSS), aided the payment of 562,420 people between September 2020 and the week ending March 28th, 2021.
The highest recorded week for people receiving the PUP, TWSS or EWSS (excluding duplicates) was the week ending May 3rd, 2020, when over one million people received a Covid support from the Government.
Of the people who received a support payment, 57.1 per cent were men and 42.9 per cent were woman. The majority of workers were aged between 25-44 (47.9 per cent), while 18.5 per cent were under the age of 25.
