More than €3bn paid out in Pandemic Unemployment Payments since March

Liz Canavan Assistant Secretary to the Department of An Taoiseach: 'Please bear with us, we're at a critical stage.' Picture: Gareth Chaney/Collins

The government has paid out over €3bn in the Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP).

Some 274,600 people received the payment last week, with an overall weekly payment of €85m, with over €3bn has been paid out overall since the payment began in March.