Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I will accelerate and try to get them done. Very quickly, on amendment No. 62, the particular requirement that the company does pay and has the ability to add to the subsidy made available to the State, in normal times I would completely agree with Deputy Doherty. I think, unfortunately, it could be very possible that there will be even more companies in the future that will have a very low level of income coming in because demand for their goods or service has evaporated which means they are not in a position to add to the subsidy. I would ask the Deputy not to put in place a requirement that the subsidy has to be added to because while it is what I want to see happen, my view is that if the Deputy were to make it as stringent as it is in his amendment it could undermine the ability of the scheme to operate. For that reason I ask him to consider withdrawing the amendment he has tabled in line with amendment No. 66.

In respect of Deputy Jim O'Callaghan's questions, we would define wages as normal wages, the company's inability to pay normal wages. In the guidelines they are publishing the Revenue Commissioners will put a time period against which those normal wages will be judged and will thereby be able to say, if they are not able to pay normal wages, how we define normal in the first place. In respect of Deputy Nash's questions, he has been good enough to acknowledge that the guidance does cover off several of those points. I ask Deputy Rabbitte to consider the issue her party is raising in the Seanad tomorrow morning. I know it is a very important issue and that there are many in the childcare sector who want to see this issue clarified but if this amendment is accepted in the Seanad tomorrow, this Bill needs to come back to the Dáil. If it does come back to the Dáil, the Revenue Commissioners cannot make payments available as soon as next week. If the Deputy is weighing up this matter I ask her to consider the real value of this scheme being operational next week.

In response to Deputy O'Donoghue, I accept what he says but we are hoping that through the supports available from the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection we will be able to support those who are self-employed in a comparable scheme but it will be administered through that Department as opposed to the Revenue Commissioners. I think the detailed guidance offered by the Revenue Commissioners will address many of the issues Deputy Mattie McGrath has raised. In response to Deputy O'Donnell's question about how a decline in turnover will be judged, that will be by looking at what the expected turnover will be for quarter 2 of 2020 and comparing that with likely turnover for quarter 1 or, if appropriate, quarter 2 of 2019. In response to Deputy Troy, this scheme is based on net wages. The idea is that it will maintain 70% of the net wages that an employee would otherwise get after paying tax. Yes tax liabilities will be generated during the year in respect of this and the Revenue Commissioners will have to engage with every company to ensure that this is managed in a way that is fair and understood by all. The Revenue Commissioners, through the guidance they have issued tonight, and through the wide engagement they are having at the moment with accounting bodies and employers will, I hope, be able to clarify all of that. I believe in the absence of an intervention like this, the risk is very high. If this scheme is accepted by the Dáil tonight and the Seanad tomorrow, it can play a very important role in keeping people in jobs which they would otherwise not be in.

Be under no doubt that this is an emergency scheme, which will need to come to an end. The costs are sustainable for a period of time but they are not sustainable indefinitely. It will fall to a future Minister to conclude this scheme.

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