Pandemic payment arrears: Almost €3m paid out to 6,615 people in Waterford

A total of €2,865,600 in arrears under the Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP) has been paid out to 6,615 people living in Waterford.

A total of €129.2 million was paid out to more than 286,000 people across the country this week.

It comes ahead of the rollout of the Christmas Bonus, which will see almost €390 million paid out to 1.6 million people nationwide.

Commenting on the arrears payments, Social Protestion Minister Heather Humphreys said: “My department examined a total of 1.4million applications to check if arrears were due and today we are paying out €129.2 million to approximately 286,000 people.

“This payment will be on top of the Christmas Bonus of €389 million that will be paid next week. That is over half a billion into the economy within a week and my strong message to people is ‘Shop Irish and Shop local to support local businesses and local jobs. The retailers are open and they deserve our support.”