Written answers

Thursday, 1 October 2020

Department of Finance

Covid-19 Pandemic Supports

Photo of Bernard DurkanBernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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103. To ask the Minister for Finance if and when Covid-19 support payments are likely to be made in the case of employee directors; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28062/20]

Photo of Paschal DonohoePaschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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The Employment Wage Subsidy Scheme (EWSS) was legislated for in the Financial Provisions (Covid-19) (No. 2) Act 2020.  The EWSS provides a flat-rate subsidy to qualifying employers, based on the number of qualifying employees on the payroll. I am advised by Revenue that by 30 September, 37,165 employers had successfully registered for the scheme.  Furthermore, payments of EWSS claims, in respect of employees and proprietary directors, for the month of September, will be made in the middle of this month.

Executive directors are directors of a company who are involved in the day to day management of the company.  Executive directors are generally treated the same as ordinary employees provided, they are not also a proprietary director.  Therefore, subject to the company meeting the eligibility conditions, the employer can claim a subsidy in respect of executive directors similar to employees.

Proprietary directors are directors who can control, either directly or indirectly, more than 15% of the share capital of a company.  Under the EWSS legislation as enacted, proprietary directors are not qualifying employees for the purposes of the scheme.  However, as I announced at the end of July this position has been revisited and the EWSS can be claimed by an eligible employer in respect of proprietary directors from 1 September 2020, where they meet the objective of the scheme of retaining ordinary employees on the payroll.

Following the review of the matter undertaken by my Department and the Revenue Commissioners, it has been agreed that the only additional qualifying criteria that will apply in the case of proprietary directors as qualifying employees is that the proprietary director has to have been paid wages which were reported to Revenue on the payroll of the eligible employer at any stage between 1 July 2019 and 30 June 2020.  Further, it has also been agreed that where a person is a proprietary director of two or more eligible companies, a claim for EWSS can only be submitted in respect of a single company only. 

The amending legislation necessary to give a statutory footing to the above will be included in the Finance Bill later this year.

In the meantime, the above will be implemented by Revenue as confirmed in both a press release that was issued on 31 August (see ) and the updated Guidance (see ).

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