Galway Bay fm newsroom - There has been a slight rise in the number of Galway employees in receipt of the government's pandemic unemployment payment this week.
32 thousand payments are being issued in Galway this week - an additional 400 when compared to last week.
Around 21,000 people nationwide are receiving the payment for the first time this week.
Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection, Regina Doherty says the smaller increase in the numbers on the COVID-19 payment this week would suggest that Ireland has come through the worst of temporary job lay-offs.
She adds that the priority now is to continue to support all those who need assistance and to work to help all employers and workers to adjust to the emerging reality that Covid-19 may be with us for a long time to come.
There are now 591,000 people in receipt a pandemic unemployment payment.
