Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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448. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if businesses that provide a repair service such as jewellers are permitted to conduct drop-off and collection services during this period of the Covid-19 restrictions; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [7919/20]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The Government’s Roadmap for Reopening Society and Business sets out five stages for unlocking the restrictions put in place to contain the Coronavirus, at three week intervals. The Roadmap sets out how we can keep the level of transmission of COVID-19 as low as possible while balancing continuing restrictions in proportion with the positive social and economic benefits which will be brought about by businesses reopening. It is important to note that all decisions taken by Government on the timing of any lifting of restrictions as envisaged in Phases 2 to 5 of the Roadmap will be guided by the public health advice at the time.

On 15^thMay the Government announced that we would move to Phase 1 of the Roadmap from Monday May 18^th. This is in line with advice received from the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET). The categories of workers, list of retailers and other facilities that can reopen under Phase 1 are available on the Government’s website gov.ie.

Businesses should review the Roadmap carefully and carry out a detailed assessment of their activities with regard to the continuing public health measures. Businesses should, based on their assessment, identify which category in which phase of reopening they will be in a position to reopen safely and in line with the continued public health measures. It is not necessary for businesses to seek official authorisation to reopen.

The National Return to Work Safely Protocol is a useful guide for businesses in making their assessments and adapting their workplace procedures and practices to comply fully with the COVID-19 related public health protection measures. It sets out in very clear terms for employers and workers the steps that they must take firstly before a workplace reopens, and then while it continues to operate.

The Protocol is available at

The Health and Safety Authority, which is an agency of my Department, is the lead agency in overseeing compliance with the Protocol in the workplace. If employers or employees need further guidance on the Protocol, the HSA Helpline can be contacted at 1890 289 389 or wcu@hsa.ie.

In order to assist businesses to address the challenges posed by COVID-19, the Government has put in place a comprehensive suite of supports for firms of all sizes, which includes the wage subsidy scheme, grants, low-cost loans, write-off of commercial rates and deferred tax liabilities. These supports are designed to build confidence, to further assist businesses in terms of the management of their companies and to allow them to begin looking to the future and start charting a path forward for weeks and months ahead.For a full list of supports for business please see .

On 8^thMay the Government agreed details of a further support which will give direct grant aid to micro and small businesses to help them with the costs associated with reopening and re-employing workers following COVID-19 closures. The Restart Grant is available to businesses with a turnover of less than €5m and employing 50 people or less, which were closed or impacted by at least a 25% reduction in turnover out to 30^thJune 2020. It is a contribution towards the cost of re-opening or keeping a business operational and re-connecting with employees and customers. The grant is equivalent to the rates bill of the business in 2019, with a minimum payment of €2,000 and a maximum payment of €10,000.

If a company is currently in a rateable premises but was not rate-assessed in 2019 it is still eligible to apply. The local authority can pay the grant based on an estimate of what the rates demand for 2019 would have been.

Applications for the Restart Grant can be made online directly to local authorities and further information is available on the application form. If there are queries that are not addressed on the application form, businesses can contact the Business Support Unit in each local authority.

All information including the application form will be available on the appropriate local authority website, the details of which are at the following link: .

I recognise the impact that this pandemic is having on businesses right across the country. I know that employers and employees want to get back to work and I support them in that ambition, but it must be safe to do so. My Department contributed to the considerations around the phased re-opening of sectors and I will work within Government to secure further details and clarity for businesses as we progress through the phases outlined in the Roadmap.

A wide range of stakeholders including employers, unions and representative groups were consulted and their advice formed part of the considerations when drawing up the Roadmap. It is a living document and Government has the ability to amends its plans depending on the circumstances existing as we progress through each phase. It will be subject to regular review in the context of the progression or suppression of the disease in Ireland or new guidance or research that emerges from other sources.

Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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450. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the number of businesses that closed due to Covid-19 by sectoral category; the estimated number of businesses that will reopen at each phase of the Roadmap for Reopening Society and Business; if she is satisfied that the necessary resources are available for the inspection and enforcement workload likely to present at each of the reopening phases; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [7922/20]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy will appreciate, any thorough analysis of company closures on account of COVID-19 will require hard data which will arise from a variety of sources over the course of any given year. Insights are currently available from business surveys, stakeholder engagements, and real-time data at the level of employee where employees interact with the State’s employment support system.

I would refer the Deputy to my Department’s recent report on Economic Considerations for Reinstating Economic Activitywhich is publicly available on my Department’s website. The report includes analyses by the Department of Finance and the Department of Public Expenditure & Reform which makes clear that the most-heavily impacted sectors are Accommodation and Food, Construction, Administrative and Support Services, Wholesale & Retail Trade, and other Personal Services. Other sectors where the impacts are significant but somewhat less severe include the Manufacturing sector, and Transport and Storage. This pattern of sectoral impacts is similar to that observed in other countries. In terms of employment, the report observes that the Department of Finance’s ‘central’ scenario in its Stability Programme Update projects employment to fall substantially in 2020, with approximately 220,000 jobs being lost. The unemployment rate is projected to dramatically rise over the first half of the year, with an average rate in the mid 20% range during the second quarter, before falling over the second half of the year, as containment measures are gradually eased.

The CSO has conducted surveys on the business impacts of COVID-19 with the most recent release of 18th May last presenting findings of the second wave of the exercise. The Business Impact of COVID-19 Survey (BICS) has been created to measure and report quickly on the impact of COVID-19 on business in Ireland. A total of 3,000 enterprises were surveyed online for BICS Wave Two, with 24.5% of sampled enterprises completing the survey. The survey reports:

- Nearly one in four (23.9%) enterprises had ceased trading either temporarily or permanently on 3 May 2020.

- Almost a quarter (23.0%) of enterprises closed temporarily while 0.9% closed permanently.

- More than three in four (76.0%) of responding enterprises were continuing to trade in some capacity on 3rd May 2020.

- Among the enterprises who responded to both waves of the survey, one in six of those who had ceased trading temporarily by 19 April indicated that they had recommenced trading by 3 May.

Of note also is that:

- Two-thirds of Construction enterprises ceased trading either temporarily or permanently. Again, one would expect this to decrease arising from the return of construction activities in Phase 1 of the Roadmap.

- Seven in ten enterprises had lower turnover due to COVID-19 over the two-week period from 20 April to 3 May 2020.

- Exports decreased for over half of responding enterprises.

- Almost half of responding enterprises expressed confidence in having financial resources to continue operating for longer than six months.

- Over half of enterprises availed of Government supports schemes.

- Social distancing in the workplace implemented by over half of respondents. Over half (53.2%) of responding enterprises had implemented working arrangements to facilitate social distancing in the workplace at some point during the COVID-19 crisis. This rose to 77.4% of enterprises in the Manufacturing sector.

Turning to the issue of inspection and enforcement, the Health and Safety Authority (HSA) is the lead Agency in relation to oversight and compliance with the national Return to Work Safely Protocol. It will ensure compliance with the Protocol through a range of measures including advice, guidance, inspection and enforcement action as appropriate and as provided for in the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005.

The HSA is deploying all of its available field inspectors across all sectors to carry out both spot checks and other inspections to check compliance with the Protocol. However, the Government will ensure that the HSA inspectorate will be supplemented significantly by deploying, under the authority of the HSA, other inspectors from across the system who already have an environmental health, agriculture or other workplace/business inspection responsibilities.

While details of these additional resources are currently being finalised, the numbers working with the HSA will be in the hundreds, from across the system. These will be specialist officials who already have sectoral business inspection responsibilities. The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine has given a commitment that inspectors from his Department will work with the HSA to ensure the implementation of the Protocol in workplaces. Compliance with the COVID-19 Return to Work Safely Protocol will become part of the normal inspection regime. It will start shortly with around 200 officials from the Environmental Health Service, and this number will increase steadily as officials from other parts of the system, with varying sectoral inspection and oversight responsibilities are brought on board, in line with the Government Roadmap. The details are being finalised at present.