8,153 people in Mayo receive €3.6m in PUP arrears

ARREARS of €3,638,007 under the Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP) have been paid out to 8,153 people living in Mayo this week.

Many of the people who received arrears yesterday (Tuesday) may have not been expecting it, so this is a welcome boost, especially ahead of Christmas, said Deputy Michael Ring.

He commented: “The Pandemic Unemployment Payment has proven to be an essential lifeline for so many workers. Over €3.4bn has been paid out, demonstrating the government’s determination to protecting workers.

“The money was paid ahead of the roll-out of the Christmas bonus, which will see almost €390 million paid out to 1.6 million people nationwide.

“Between these arrears and the Christmas bonus, over a half a billion euro will be paid out nationwide over the course of a week. What better approach to take than to invest it in the local economy and support small businesses ahead of Christmas.”

He was joined by his party colleague Deputy Dillon in calling for people to shop local this Christmas.

Said Deputy Dillon: “I would encourage the people of Mayo to shop local and keep this money within the county.

“Retailers in County Mayo have had a challenging time during the Covid pandemic and all of us should do right by them and buy presents and other essentials this Christmas from our local shops.