Over 6,000 people in Clare have been out of work for at least six months as a result of the COVID pandemic.
A fifth of those are aged under 25.
The number of people in Clare on the pandemic unemployment has fluctuated throughout the pandemic, ranging from a high of 14,600 and as low as 4,500 last September.
In total, nearly 21,000 people here received at least one payment and the latest figures show over 11,000 people here are relying on it for their income.
But now, figures from the Minister for Social Protection show for the first time how many people have been receiving the PUP for a significant portion of the last year.
Minister Heather Humphreys has told the Dáil that 6,259 people in Clare have been receiving the payment for a minimum of six months, and that, of those, 1,321 are aged under 25.
Across the country, 255,000 people have been claiming the PUP for at least six months, representing 54% of all recipients and painting a clear picture of the devastating economic impact of COVID-19.
