95,000 on furlough in Northern Ireland as eat-out meals topped 7.5m during August scheme More than 7.5 million meals were claimed for in Northern Ireland during the Eat Out to Help Out scheme in August. Picture: Mal McCann Gary McDonald Business Editor 29 January, 2021 01:00 THOUSANDS more people in Northern Ireland are being furloughed on a monthly basis, new figures show. According to HMRC, some 94,800 employees were availing of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CRJS) at the end of December. That compares to 68,000 at the end of October, rising to 79,300 by November 30 - and is now roughly one in eight of all workers. The government figures also revealed that 52,000 individuals, or more than half (55 per cent) of eligible self-employed workers in the north, had claimed £143 million Self-Employed Income Support Scheme (SEISS) grant by year-end at an average value of £2,700.