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

I move amendment No. 11:

In page 12, line 12, to delete “2020” and substitute “2020)”.

As indicated on Committee Stage, I propose a number of amendments relating to the Covid restrictions support scheme, CRSS. This has been a very challenging period for businesses and it may take some time and additional cost to reopen once the restrictions are lifted. I therefore propose an extra restart week to be paid to businesses, the week after the restrictions are lifted, as an additional support to them in reopening. The additional week is payable if the restrictions are in place for three weeks or more and can be claimed at the end of the restriction period.

It was and is my intention that CRSS would commence on budget day, 13 October. At present, section 74(8) of the Finance Bill, as initiated, provides that: "Except where otherwise expressly provided for in Part 1, that Part shall come into operation on 1 January 2021". I propose an amendment that will expressly provide that CRSS will be effective from 15 October 2020. This will ensure that CRSS is given legal effect from the earliest possible opportunity.

The legislation currently provides that a claim for the Covid restrictions support scheme must be made no later than eight weeks from the date on which the claim period to which the claim relates is commenced. To ensure that no business is adversely affected where additional information is required to enable the business to register for CRSS, I am proposing an amendment to allow a claim to be made within three weeks of the registration date, if that date is after the eight weeks. An eight-week limit following the end of the scheme of 31 March 2021 for registrations is also included to ensure that the costs related to the scheme will be incurred within a reasonable period.

On Committee Stage a provision was introduced whereby over-claims would be deducted from future claims. I now propose that where no future claims take place, warehousing provisions similar to those in place for the temporary wage subsidy scheme repayments will apply. If a business has inadvertently been overpaid due to the fact that restrictions were lifted early, the overpayment shall be dealt with as follows. The business may not claim the restart week. Where a balance remains, any further claim will be reduced by that amount. Interest will only start accumulating on these specific overpayments after the specified period ends, which is 13 October 2020 to 31 March 2021, or later if extended. Where an excess balance remains, this will be dealt with on a case-by-case basis after the specified period ends.

New sections are being introduced, with the result that there is a need to re-number subsequent sections and references.

With regard to the employment conditions which Deputies Boyd Barrett, Barry, Gino Kenny, Paul Murphy and Bríd Smith seek to introduce, I accept they are important issues but the scheme is not the appropriate place in which to address them. As we discussed previously, any additional conditionality will make it more difficult for employers to benefit from the CRSS and could have the effect of job losses. That is not the intention of the Deputies, but it could well be an unintended consequence. In addition, the conditions put forward go beyond the remit of the Revenue Commissioners, who operate the Covid scheme, and other bodies, including the Workplace Relations Commission, have responsibilities in this area.

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