Jennifer Murnane O'Connor (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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6. To ask the Minister for Finance the number of companies in counties Carlow and Kilkenny that have registered under the business resumption support scheme. [44780/21]

James Lawless (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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14. To ask the Minister for Finance the number of companies in County Kildare that have registered under the business resumption support scheme. [44791/21]

Joe Flaherty (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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16. To ask the Minister for Finance the number of companies in counties Longford and Westmeath that have registered under the business resumption support scheme. [44869/21]

Marc MacSharry (Sligo-Leitrim, Fianna Fail)
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25. To ask the Minister for Finance the number of companies in counties Sligo, Leitrim and Donegal that have registered under the business resumption support scheme. [44820/21]

Barry Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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37. To ask the Minister for Finance the number of companies in counties Offaly and Laois that have registered under the business resumption support scheme. [44797/21]

Christopher O'Sullivan (Cork South West, Fianna Fail)
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41. To ask the Minister for Finance the number of companies in counties Cork and Kerry that have registered under the business resumption support scheme. [44793/21]

John Lahart (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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50. To ask the Minister for Finance the number of companies in Dublin city and county and the number of companies in County Wicklow that have registered under the business resumption support scheme. [44788/21]

Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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54. To ask the Minister for Finance the number of companies in counties Cavan and Monaghan that have registered under the business resumption support scheme. [44786/21]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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62. To ask the Minister for Finance the number of companies in counties Mayo and Roscommon that have registered under the business resumption support scheme. [44800/21]

Jennifer Murnane O'Connor (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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The new business resumption support scheme, BRSS, for businesses with a reduced turnover as a result of public health restrictions was launched earlier this month and is open until 30 November this year. Can the Minister tell me the number of companies in counties Carlow and Kilkenny that have registered for the scheme?

Marc Ó Cathasaigh (Waterford, Green Party)
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Question No. 6 is grouped with a number of other questions. I advise Deputies that if the discussion on this group of questions has not concluded after 18 and a half minutes, I will draw it to a conclusion at that point.

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 6, 14, 16, 25, 37, 41, 50, 54 and 62 together.

The business resumption support scheme is a new support for businesses impacted by Covid-19. It is administered by Revenue. To qualify for the scheme, a business must carry on a trade or trading activities the profits from which are chargeable to tax under case I of Schedule D. The business must possess a valid tax clearance and continue to maintain tax clearance for the duration of the application period. Under the scheme, businesses with a turnover that reduced by 75% in the reference period, that is, 1 September 2020 to 31 August 2021, compared with 2019, will be eligible to apply for a once-off payment based on a percentage of their average weekly turnover for 2019, subject to a maximum payment of €15,000, provided they meet the qualifying criteria. The payment is calculated as three times the sum of 10% of the average weekly turnover, up to €20,000, and 5% on any excess of average weekly turnover above €20,000, subject to a maximum payment of €15,000.

Registration for the scheme opened on 6 September 2021. Once registered, eligible businesses can make a claim at any time up to 30 November 2021 for a single-payment support via the Revenue online service. I am advised by Revenue that, as of 16 September, 420 businesses, covering 438 trades, have applied for the scheme. A total of 154 businesses have claimed the BRSS in Dublin, as well as 44 in Cork, 20 in Kerry, 18 in Mayo and 14 in Westmeath. When there are fewer than ten businesses registered for any scheme, the exact number is not provided due to Revenue's statistical disclosure protocols, which support the obligation to protect taxpayer confidentiality. In counties Carlow, Cavan, Donegal, Kildare, Kilkenny, Laois, Leitrim, Longford, Monaghan, Offaly, Roscommon, Sligo and Wicklow, between one and nine companies have applied for the BRSS in each case.

Revenue publishes detailed statistics each week on the operation of Covid-19 support schemes, which now include information on the BRSS. These statistics are available on the Revenue website.

Jennifer Murnane O'Connor (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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This new support scheme for businesses with a reduced turnover as a result of the public health restrictions is most welcome. It is especially welcome that it is open to businesses that may have previously qualified for the Covid restrictions support scheme, CRSS. My chief concern is to ensure enough information is out there about what supports are available. A number of schemes have had criteria that many businesses could not meet. Certainly, there was much confusion in this regard among people who came to me for assistance. It is important that we look at this issue carefully in order to help as many businesses as we can. I am concerned that the new scheme is not very well advertised. Given the figures the Minister gave, I remain concerned. There have been instances where businesses got lost in whether they qualified for different schemes. It is important that we have other schemes working alongside the new scheme. We must ensure the information is out there and gets to the businesses that qualify for the BRSS. I acknowledge that criteria were given but it is important that the information gets to people. I have concerns about the uptake thus far.

James Lawless (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister for his reply. First, I want to acknowledge that the Government has supported businesses extremely well through the lockdowns and for the past 18 months. As a Kildare representative, I acknowledge the additional supports given in the second lockdown that Kildare endured, which some counties did not. There were comments from Opposition Members a few moments ago noting that the budget and finances are under pressure. Of course they are. Deputy Tóibín has left the Chamber but I say to him and any other Member raising this point that they cannot have it every way. They cannot complain about a deficit arising and also complain about businesses and individuals not being supported. We cannot do it all but the Government has tried admirably to balance different needs. Extraordinary measures were taken in extraordinary times, and taken without reservation. I commend the Government on doing so.

I share Deputy Murnane O'Connor's concerns about businesses' awareness of the new scheme. I am a little concerned that Kildare is one of the counties with fewer than ten applicants. I canvassed a number of business owners before tonight to see what the reaction has been to the scheme. I agree there is a degree of confusion about it. It was put to me that the requirement for a 75% reduction in turnover is an issue. A business, especially a bricks-and-mortar business, that has had a turnover reduction of 75% may not be in business any more. That is a cause for concern. We must all do our best to advertise the scheme following this discussion.

Christopher O'Sullivan (Cork South West, Fianna Fail)
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I commend both the Minister, Deputy Donohoe, and the Minister, Deputy Michael McGrath, on the extensive supports provided to date. Like many other Deputies, I toured my constituency over the summer and met people who have reopened their businesses. Most of them told me they would not have been in a position to do so without the extensive support provided under the CRSS, the restart grant, the employment wage subsidy scheme and, for many in hospitality, the outdoor dining scheme, which was incredibly important. The BRSS is a further boost for businesses. I am surprised to hear the uptake figure of 44 for County Cork. I would have expected it to be higher. However, businesses have until the end of November to register and I encourage them to do so.

Will the Minister comment on a specific issue? We have a situation where, because of international issues, utility and energy bills have skyrocketed. This will have a massive impact on SMEs in particular. I ask him to consider including in budget 2022 some measures to cushion the blow for the SMEs that will incur extra costs.

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputies for the points they made, some of which I will try to address.

First, in terms of the number of covered companies and employers that have registered for the support scheme, this reminds me of where we were with the CRSS, in that registration at the start of the scheme tended to be lower than I expected. When we launched the scheme, I was asked in the early phase of that why more employers did not register. What happened is that towards the latter end of the registration, the number of companies in the scheme increased considerably. While I take the point that the figure at the moment of less than 500 is low, it is what I expected and the key point will be how many companies are registered as we move into October, and we will certainly look at that.

Regarding awareness about the scheme, I take the point that was made by the Deputy. We will examine how we can publicise and explain the scheme a bit more because it is a good scheme, and we want to make sure businesses are aware of it.

Jennifer Murnane O'Connor (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister. I wrote to him regarding concerns from many businesses that were locked out of the previous supports, which asked what reopening might look like and how long it might take for them to recover. Supports such as these are a significant help. It is testament to the commitment of the Government to the country to get it up and running, which is so important. I especially welcome that the schemes are open to those who do not have a physical premises. It is most welcome that we are working together to support vulnerable and viable businesses.

What is most useful is that self-employed people, charities and sporting bodies that may have missed out previously can now access assistance. The Covid-19 crisis showed us that without doubt charities, community and voluntary organisations and social and sporting enterprise are at the heart of a strong country, but with supports that are vulnerable. It is great to see them being able to avail of such supports, which are so important. The Minister knows that €445 million was lost to charities, as many clubs and charities were not able to fundraise. The supports for them are most welcome.

James Lawless (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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Many businesses availed of the CRSS and previous schemes, but at one stage there was an issue in that an applicant had to be a rate payer to avail of it. I welcome that the schemes have been broadened since. Some businesses made a success of lockdown and managed to become continental in their outdoor offerings. In some businesses that was easier to do than in others. We all adapted to that. There were pop-up businesses all over my constituency, which thrived and did quite well, that may not have existed previously. People got into a new way of living and local butchers and grocers were supported perhaps more than previously as people were at home and were able to spend extra time cooking and suchlike as well. Perhaps some businesses saw an unexpected bounce, dare I say, albeit that the overall prospect was bleak.

Regarding the 75% turnover, it was said to me that a business that has seen a drop of 75% in turnover would be lucky to still be in business no matter what the business might be. The Government has done what it can to mitigate that, and I commend it on that.

Christopher O'Sullivan (Cork South West, Fianna Fail)
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I believe that the uptake of the scheme will increase significantly as time goes by. I want to come back to the energy crisis and the cost of electricity for small businesses. It was encouraging to hear the comments of the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Michael McGrath, about measures in budget 2022 for individuals and households in terms of social welfare payments, the fuel allowance, the living alone allowance, etc., to cushion the blow. I would love to see some similar measures for SMEs that are struggling to make those margins. The higher cost of electricity will contribute to that as well. I would love to hear a comment from the Minister on that.

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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Of course the Government will consider if we can do anything on the issues the Deputies raised. The EWSS is in place and we have to make a decision as part of the budgetary process regarding the future of the scheme, how long it will be in place and what subsidies will be available for its future duration. A scheme such as that will contribute to the ability of employers to recover from the harm of Covid and deal with the costs they have to confront as they look to reopen. When the Tánaiste is working on the proposals for his Department, I am sure he will also examine whether any measures can be taken to support businesses at this challenging time.

I will take on board the comments that colleagues have made on the BRSS and I hope when we next debate this in the Dáil, we will see an improvement in registration for the scheme.