Sinn Féin T.D. Pádraig Mac Lochlainn says workers who live in Derry but work in Inishowen have been left ‘blowing in the wind’ over COVID-19 payments

Deputy Mac Lochlainn said it was ‘absolutely disgraceful’ the Irish Government’s COVID-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment of €350 a week is only available to workers living in the 26 counties.

“There are large numbers of workers resident in Derry, west Tyrone and Fermanagh who work and pay taxes and social insurance in Donegal, making a major contribution to the county’s economy.

“They have been left blowing in the wind by the Minister and her Department, which is absolutely disgraceful.

“They were told to go across the Border into the North, and unfortunately, as a result of partition and the actions of the British Government, they receive a third of the amount received by workers by their side who pay the same taxes and social insurance. It is an absolute disgrace and repugnant to the spirit of the Good Friday Agreement,” he blasted.

The Minister for Employment Affairs Regina Doherty responded: “The position regarding frontier workers is that the pandemic unemployment payment is consistent with the rules of jobseeker’s benefit regarding the competent state. Under the current EU rules, the member state of the resident is competent for the payment of unemployment benefits in the case of wholly unemployed frontier workers. This means the competent state for a person living in Northern Ireland and working in the RoI who becomes wholly unemployed is NI and that person is not eligible for the pandemic unemployment payment.”