Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein)
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151. To ask the Minister for Finance the way in which the temporary wage subsidy scheme evaluates average pay for furlough if unpaid sick leave was taken in December 2019 and January 2020 which has subsequently impacted negatively on an employee’s average furlough pay. [13812/20]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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The Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme (TWSS) is provided for in section 28 of the recently enacted Emergency Measures in the Public Interest (Covid-19) Act 2020. The Deputy will be aware that the TWSS is an emergency measure to deal with the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the economy. Of necessity, the underlying legislation and the scheme itself were developed rapidly, having regard to the Government objective of providing financial assistance to employers and employees, where businesses have been seriously affected by the pandemic and the necessary restrictions that were introduced as a result.

In the context of the need for immediate implementation of the TWSS, the scheme necessarily had to build on data returned to Revenue through its real-time PAYE system. The key conditions of the scheme, as prescribed in the underlying law, are that:

- the business is suffering significant negative economic impact due to the pandemic,

- the employees were on the payroll at 29 February 2020, and

- the employer had fulfilled its PAYE reporting obligations for February 2020 before, in general, 15 March 2020, but extended recently to before 1 April 2020.

For the purposes of the operation of the TWSS, the Average Revenue Net Weekly Pay is the employee’s average net weekly pay for January and February 2020 based on the payroll submissions made by the employer concerned to Revenue.

I have been advised by Revenue that if no payroll is on record for an employee in January due to unpaid sick leave, then Revenue will use the February payroll submissions for the calculation of the Average Revenue Net Weekly Pay and divide that by the number of insurable weeks reported in that period. Thus, an employee would not be negatively impacted if he or she only had payroll submissions covering four weeks during the January and February period as the calculation is proportionate to the number of insurable weeks reported.

Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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152. To ask the Minister for Finance if the criteria for the temporary wage subsidy scheme will be redefined to ensure that seasonal workers and businesses are not being left to struggle alone with no supports as they reopen in line with advice [13814/20]

Brendan Griffin (Kerry, Fine Gael)
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153. To ask the Minister for Finance his views on a matter (details supplied) regarding the temporary wage subsidy scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13817/20]

Brendan Griffin (Kerry, Fine Gael)
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160. To ask the Minister for Finance if he will extend the temporary wage subsidy scheme to a business (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13913/20]

Martin Browne (Tipperary, Sinn Fein)
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166. To ask the Minister for Finance the supports available for tourism businesses which are seasonal and would normally be operating at full capacity (details supplied); his views on whether a seasonal average would be fairer for tourism businesses; and if plans are in place to make allowances for the seasonality of businesses in the tourism sector. [14108/20]

Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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183. To ask the Minister for Finance if the temporary wage subsidy scheme will be extended to seasonal workers; and if not, if a specific measure will be put in place to support such workers to allow them have an income stream and to ensure hotels and restaurants have a full complement of staff for the reduced tourist season. [14421/20]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 152, 153, 160, 166 and 183 together.

The Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme (TWSS) is provided for in section 28 of the Emergency Measures in the Public Interest (Covid-19) Act 2020.

The TWSS is an emergency measure to deal with the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the economy. Of necessity, the underlying legislation and the scheme itself were developed quickly, having regard to the objective of getting assistance to employers and employees, where businesses have been seriously affected by the pandemic and the necessary restrictions introduced to fight the spread of the Covid-19 virus.

In the context of the compelling need for immediate implementation of the TWSS, the scheme necessarily had to build on data returned to Revenue through its real-time PAYE system. The key conditions of the scheme, as prescribed in the underlying law, are that –

- the business is suffering significant negative economic impact due to the pandemic,

- the employees were on the payroll at 29 February 2020, and

- the employer had fulfilled its PAYE reporting obligations for February 2020 before, in general, 15 March 2020, but extended recently to 1 April 2020.

The latter two conditions were particularly designed with a view to preventing abuse of the scheme. The wage subsidy per employee is calculated based on the net pay reported for January and February 2020. It follows that the TWSS can only operate in respect of an employee, whether full-time or part-time, who was on the payroll of the employer as at 29 February 2020. Thus, where an individual commenced a new employment after that date, or returned to the payroll of his or her employer after that date following a period of unpaid leave, he or she does not meet the eligibility criteria with the employer as he or she would not have been on the employer’s payroll at that date. There are no plans at the present moment to revisit the core criteria.

The Deputies will be aware that the Government decided on 5 June 2020 to extend the Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme (TWSS) until the end of August. The intention is to continue to monitor the scheme closely in the coming period.

The new Programme for Government contains a commitment that a July Jobs Initiative will be brought forward which will, among other things, "set out a pathway for the future implementation of the Temporary Wage Subsidy". The matter raised by the Deputies will be one of the many factors that will be taken into account as part of that exercise.

In relation to other direct support measures, I would draw the Deputies' attention to a recent publication by the Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation, which outlines the key financial supports and resources that are being made available to help all businesses and sectors impacted by Covid-19. This publication is available at the following link:

www.gov.ie/en/publication/c644c0-supports-for-businesses-impacted-by-covid-19/.

Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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190. To ask the Minister for Finance the planned tax treatment for Covid-19 pandemic unemployment payments, particularly in which the tax liability for those payments exceeds unused personal and PAYE tax credits for 2020; the planned tax treatment for payments made through the temporary wage subsidy scheme particularly in which the tax liability for those payments exceeds unused personal and PAYE tax credits for 2020; and the considerations provided by his Department to introduce legislation that would prohibit interest accrual for mortgage holders availing of a moratorium or payment break in the context of Covid-19 as was implemented in other EU jurisdictions. [14568/20]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 154 and 190 together.

Section 28 of the Emergency Measures in the Public Interest (Covid-19) Act 2020 provides for the Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme (TWSS). The scheme is designed to maintain the key relationship between employers and employees and minimise the impact on the economy to the greatest extent possible during the public health restrictions necessitated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Based on the most recent statistics, for the week to 2 July 2020, 410,000 employees are currently being supported by the scheme and almost 568,000 employees have received a subsidy since commencement. In addition, the Department of Social Protection and Rural Affairs has indicated that since the start of the pandemic over 730,000 people have applied for the Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP).

Payments made under both the TWSS and PUP are income supports and share the characteristics of income and are subject to tax. The TWSS is also subject to USC while the PUP follows the general taxation rule for social welfare payments and is exempt from that charge. Both schemes are exempt from PRSI charges. However, neither scheme is being taxed in real-time through the PAYE system, but recipients may become liable for tax and USC (for TWSS) at the end of the year, which will be calculated by Revenue through the employee End of Year Review process.

The level of tax and USC due by any person at year end in respect of TWSS and PUP payments may be reduced or eliminated by the amount of unused tax credits available. Any liability due may also be further reduced if the person has additional tax credits, for example health expenses, to offset. Revenue has also very recently placed all recipients of either the TWSS or the PUP on the ‘week 1 basis’ of taxation for the remainder of 2020 to ‘preserve’ unused tax credits that can then be used to offset any tax or USC liabilities that arise.

Revenue has also assured me that if any tax and USC liabilities still arise following the allocation of unused credits, it will work with the persons impacted upon to collect the outstanding liabilities over an extended period. This will be achieved by reducing their tax credits for future years, thereby minimising any financial hardship to the greatest extent possible.

I am advised by Revenue that the final calculation of the end of year liability for each person is dependent on a range of factors, including a person’s civil status, the available tax credits, the actual amounts received during the year under the TWSS and PUP schemes, any top-up payments made by the employer, as well as other entitlements and credits, such as health expenses. As there are considerable differences in each person’s tax circumstances, it is not yet possible to provide details of the estimated undercharges (if any) arising from the taxation of TWSS and PUP payments. It is also not yet possible to estimate the numbers of taxpayers who may have such undercharges as these details will not be available with any degree of accuracy until after the year end.

In relation to Deputy Doherty's point regarding payment breaks for mortgage holders, I welcomed the announcement by the Banking and Payments Federation of Ireland (BPFI) of the introduction of the payment breaks for those affected by Covid-19 in March for 3 months and the subsequent announcement on 30 May of the extension to the payment breaks for a possible further 3 months, on a non-legislative basis. Figures released by the BPFI on 28 May stated that over 78,000 payment breaks were in place for mortgages and work is ongoing in relation to those seeking to avail of the 2nd payment break. These payment breaks have provided welcome breathing space and support for those affected by Covid-19.

As the Deputy will be aware, the Central Bank expects lenders to clearly explain to their customers the implications of a payment break; for the term, payment schedule, and costs of the loan. The Central Bank has communicated its expectations to financial institutions that at the end of the agreed payment break, borrowers should be given the option to either (i) repay the loan within the remaining term or (ii) extend the term of the loan. This choice should apply for all loans, including mortgages, and the impact of both options on the overall cost of credit and monthly repayments should be fully explained to the customer, noting that borrower circumstances and the appropriateness of each option will differ. As part of their supervisory work, they will be monitoring compliance with this expectation and take action, where their expectations are not met.