Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

As the Deputy is aware, the wage subsidy scheme is very successful and many more companies are taking it up. It is still available to companies that did not take it up. There are no barriers to entry into it. They can have a mix. Some companies found themselves in a position of being able to hold on to some staff and maybe lay others off. It is permitted within the scheme to have a mix of the wage subsidy scheme and to let some staff go, unfortunately, to go on unemployment benefit.

Rates have been deferred, as the Deputy knows, and that is welcome. I am working very closely with the Minister, Deputy Donohoe, to prepare a suite of supports to reboot and assist companies in getting back to work. We all want to see as many companies getting back to full operation and as many people as possible returning to work. We are working on a suite of supports, and we will certainly take on board all the suggestions we have heard here today as we design that package.

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