Government risks 'losing the dressing room' if PUP not restored to €350 a week

Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald said it is not the time to be cutting supports, especially as the Government confirmed it would seek to appoint 10 special advisers to junior ministers.

The Government risks "losing the dressing room" if the pandemic unemployment payment (PUP) is not restored to €350 per week, the opposition has warned.

The payment, which was introduced at the beginning of the pandemic, is still being claimed by more than 200,000 workers laid off due to Covid-19.