Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

First of all, the purpose and objective of the scheme was to preserve employment and the viability of companies. Without the scheme, a lot of jobs would have been lost and, more importantly, the capacity of companies to re-emerge after Covid, or as we emerge out of Covid, would have been impaired very considerably. Jobs would have been lost if these schemes were not put in place in the first instance. Significant sums of money have been provided by the State and the Government to provide for the EWSS, the TWSS and CRSS schemes as well as a range of other supports to ensure the viability of companies and firms. That is the number one point which benefits all employees and thousands of workers as well as the companies as entities themselves. This is not something that was introduced to disadvantage workers. I would argue that, in the round, it has not disadvantaged workers because in many cases it will secure their jobs into the future as we emerge from Covid. Our big concern at the outset was that many companies might not survive Covid. In the national economic recovery plan that we will be launching towards the middle of the year, part of the agenda there will be to protect and help companies and strengthen them.

In terms of the tax treatment, we do not interfere with Revenue but we are trying to facilitate workers and ensure that no one is hit with anything large overnight or in a cliff-edge situation. In terms of the issue raised by the Deputy, the tax situation applies in terms of one's income and the various thresholds that apply.

The Deputy said people "put" workers on the scheme. The whole thing was intended to protect the workers and their employment, as opposed to people being made redundant and perhaps falling back on the pandemic unemployment payment which I do not think was ideal. It has been challenging because the pandemic has now gone on for well over a year. Our overarching priority was to preserve employment, in the first instance, and then to see how we could help people in terms of the fall-out of Covid on their individual income levels and future employment needs. If certain companies and entities do not make it through, we must consider what we can do to create further employment opportunities. The resources that have been provided by the Government and taxpayers have been enormous, and on a scale never witnessed before in the history of the State.

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