Letter to the Editor: Pay those left behind
The war between society and Covid-19 allows use of the soldier’s refrain; leave no person behind.
But it is evident that in the might and main of fighting the current medical battle, residents of nursing homes and residential care facilities are being left behind.
Action is now being taken, but it’s a case of equine bolted, stable door closed.
People are also being left behind in the less fatal setting of the financial battlefield.
During this health emergency, no financial aid is being offered to those who are unemployed and receive no social welfare payment.
While financial provision is being made for the recently redundant, what about a section of the Live Register who receive no payment but still have to sign on for credits?
If you are unemployed and you do not qualify for an unemployment payment, you can sign on for credits at your local Social Welfare Office to keep your social insurance record up to date, as long as you qualify for credits.
As recruitment and employment- seeking activity grind to a halt under Covid-19 restrictions, where is the emergency funding for those who, through circumstance not of their making, find their employment seeking activity curtailed or eliminated?
The Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection needs examine this issue and agree to introduce a dignity payment for those signing for credits until this health emergency is over.
