Jennifer Carroll MacNeill (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I appreciate that it is ongoing work. I will refer to one of the challenges highlighted by business initially. The scheme was well flagged throughout that first summer of Covid. I think it was introduced in September 2020 and business was waiting for it, notwithstanding the EWSS, CRSS and other supports. One of the criticisms was that it was there to finance Covid-related debt as opposed to non-Covid-related debt. If a business had taken on significant commercial loans to redevelop or refurbish the business or whatever it happened to be, the refinancing of those loans was coming due and this scheme was not available to help refinance that debt, which needed to be serviced in order to continue to operate, particularly with reduced revenue. Did the Department get that feedback? How did it adapt to that?