Marc MacSharry (Sligo-Leitrim, Fianna Fail)
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42. To ask the Minister for Finance if he has considered extending the temporary wage subsidy scheme for the tourism and hospitality sector in view of the long-term impacts of Covid-19 for these businesses. [7612/20]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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The Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme (TWSS) is an economy-wide scheme that was introduced on 26 March 2020 to provide income support to eligible employees where the employer’s business activities have been negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

I am aware of the concerns raised regarding the impact of COVID-19 on individual sectors of the economy and I note the some concerns have been raised regarding the pace of recovery for some sectors in particular.

However, I would also note that the reality of COVID-19 is that our whole economy and labour market have been rapidly transformed by this unprecedented shock and many important sectors have also been negatively impacted.

The objective of the TWSS is to maintain the link between the employer and employee, affording the employee the security of a job during and after the crisis as best we can, as well as enabling the business to help employers scale back up their business after the scheme has ended.

The ongoing economic impact will continue to be monitored closely, as will the recovery as we continue lift the COVID-19 restrictions.