I note with great interest the information the Taoiseach has provided to the Dáil. He is expecting 40,000 to 50,000 new claims for the pandemic unemployment payment this week alone. In the previous debate, a point was made by a Deputy that it seems that, according to a fairly extensive online survey, the average pay of someone before having to go on the pandemic unemployment payment was over €500. In other words, people had suffered a cut of nearly €200 in their household income before the Government decided to cut the payment by €100, or €50, in September. Can the Taoiseach explain how €350 was regarded as a reasonable payment in March but not in October, when the virus is spreading and there is a large amount of untapped wealth in the hands of wealthy individuals? At the same time, the Government refuses even to countenance a serious wealth tax.

On that issue, when the pandemic unemployment payment, PUP, was originally introduced it was for a period of 12 weeks. We have kept it open for new entrants. We have also extended it to April next and we will probably have to extend it beyond that for as long as the pandemic continues, to make it more sustainable in terms of the overall needs of the country. The Deputy mentioned averages. The reality is that 48,000 people whose prior income was less than €200 per week will receive €203 per week under the PUP. A further 36,000 people who earned between €200 and €300 per week will now receive €250 per week. On average, most people in receipt of the €250 per week will be getting a bit more than they would have received in employment prior to the pandemic. I acknowledge that the remaining people, whose prior income was over €300, will be getting less. We are trying to be fair to all concerned because we are also conscious that there are over 200,000 people on jobseeker's allowance. Someone who lost a job before the pandemic is, and has been for the duration of the pandemic, on jobseeker's allowance. I did pose the question yesterday as to whether people were of a view that the new social welfare payment should be €350 for all categories. That is not a tenable proposition in terms of the finances of the State. We could not sustain that for any great length of time. These are the realities that Government has to try to manage and deal with in the best interests of all concerned. We are very concerned about the poverty issue and the budget next week will have a specific focus on that in terms of dealing with those who would be most vulnerable during this pandemic.