Labour leader Alan Kelly has said the sense of solidarity that brought the country through the Covid-19 pandemic went "out the window" last night over the "discriminatory" changes made to the Pandemic Unemployment Payment.
Under legislation passed in the Dáil last night, anyone in receipt of the Pandemic Unemployment Payment must be "genuinely seeking" employment.
The Social Welfare (Covid-19) Amendment Bill, which aims to put the €350 a week emergency payment on a statutory footing, will now be sent to the Seanad for consideration.
The bill states a person is entitled to the payment on any week where "he or she is genuinely seeking but unable to obtain employment suitable for him or her".