Jennifer Murnane O'Connor (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Supports for businesses are very welcome and have been a lifeline for so many over the pandemic. I agree with my colleagues. I have spoken to taxi drivers, those in the hospitality sector and small and medium-sized businesses, SMEs, in particular. I have a case in my area where a man has machinery that he bought over the years. He cannot hire out that machinery because there is no work and yet he does not get any grants as he does not have a fixed premises. That is a huge issue that needs to be addressed. We will have many hardship cases going forward. We need to make sure our economy is opened up. I ask the Minister to look at these cases and at hardship cases.

Payments under the original TWSS, treated as salary and wages for tax purposes, were not subject to PAYE during the operation of the scheme. The amount received by the employee is now liable to PAYE and USC and thousands of employees have been hit with enormous tax bills. These were employees who put their shoulder to the wheel and stayed working during the pandemic. Revenue has made provision for employers to pay this bill on behalf of employees but I want to ask the Minister about the communication here on how these employees can be assisted.

Will the bespoke version of this scheme be made available to the childcare sector and remain in place until at least the end of 2021? Childcare is the only essential service that had to rely on a wage subsidy scheme in order to operate throughout the pandemic. The EWSS contributes at least 70% of salaries for childcare staff. There is cause for significant concern about the survival of childcare settings, if this scheme does not continue or is withdrawn suddenly. This should be available to the childcare sector until at least 2022.

I ask the Minister to look at individual cases and at different sectors. I understand these grants have been valuable and businesses have appreciated them but we are facing hard times and we need to look at that.

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