Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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493. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the supports that will be provided to assist persons that have to take time off work to self-isolate in cases in which a family member living in the same household awaits a Covid-19 test result; if her attention has been drawn to the fact that at present some persons have to take annual leave or may receive no income in respect of such days not in work; if her attention has been further drawn to the fact that the present necessary and appropriate self-isolation is causing financial difficulties for some persons and families, particularly for those on lower incomes; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [28632/20]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Under the Health (Preservation and Protection and other Emergency Measures in the Public Interest) Act 2020 (No. 1), the Government, having regard to the manifest and grave risk to human life and public health posed by the spread of Covid-19, extended the Social Welfare Acts to provide for entitlement to illness benefit for persons who have been diagnosed with, or are a probable source of infection with Covid-19.

The rate of payment of the enhanced Illness Benefit payment in respect of COVID-19 is higher than the normal maximum personal rate for a limited period. The measures were designed to ensure that where a registered medical practitioner or a HSE medical officer diagnoses a person with COVID-19 or identifies him or her as a probable source of infection of COVID-19, the person concerned can comply with medical advice to isolate, while having their income protected. This is essential to limit and slow down the spread of the virus, to keep the number of people affected to a minimum, and to reduce a peak of cases which would cause extreme pressure on the health system.

The enhanced rate of Illness Benefit was brought in as a short-term public health measure and is not a long-term income support payment. It is payable for 2 weeks where a person is isolating as a probable source of infection of Covid-19 and for up to 10 weeks where a person has been diagnosed with Covid-19. Certification by a registered medical professional is required to support any claim for the special Covid 19 Illness payment. There are no waiting days in respect of the enhanced illness benefit payment. Only one contribution is required in the four weeks before the claim, thereby making the payment more accessible.

Where a medical practitioner advises a person to remain away from work because an underlying medical condition means they are unable to work safely, then the standard Illness Benefit payment may be made, subject to the conditions of the scheme being satisfied.

The purpose of the enhanced Illness Benefit payment in respect of COVID-19 is to encourage people to not go to work due to financial constraint when they should be in isolation.

When the enhanced payment was introduced, it was intended for people who were self-isolating or in a medical facility. Subsequently the HSE and the Department of Health introduced another category - for people who were advised to restrict their movements.

According to the HSE, people will need to self-isolate:

- if they have symptoms of COVID-19

- while they wait for a test appointment and test results, if they have symptoms of COVID-19

- if they have had a positive test result for COVID-19

People are advised by the HSE to restrict their movements for 14 days if they:

- are a close contact of a confirmed case of COVID-19

- live with someone who has symptoms of COVID-19, but feel well

- are being tested as a close contact of a confirmed case of COVID-19 and don’t have any symptoms

- arrive into Ireland from a country that is not on the COVID-19 green list - this list is reviewed regularly based on advice from officials including public health experts and will be updated if needed

Employers are asked to facilitate remote working where possible – in this situation people should remain on full pay from the employer.

From the outset of COVID-19, many employers will have taken the initiative, in line with subsequent requests from the Government, to be as flexible as possible in allowing staff time off where required. Employers have a general duty of care towards their workers and that care is often expressed in the form of negotiation, compromise and flexibility. Some of the options to be considered for workers with responsibilities that preclude them from working their normal hours in the normal, pre-COVID-19, may include:

- offering paid compassionate leave

- allowing employees to work from home

- altering shifts, so that employees can co-ordinate caring between themselves and partners, or another person

- allowing employees to take or rearrange annual leave

- allowing employees to rearrange parental leave

- allowing employees to take paid time off that can be worked back at a later time etc.

- allowing employees to take unpaid leave until they can return to work full or part-time.

In the event of an employee being told by their employer to go home or stay at home for a period of time without pay they may be entitled to claim the Pandemic Unemployment Payment or Jobseekers Benefit/Allowance. If they are not eligible for those payments, then they may apply for Supplementary Welfare Allowance.

Steven Matthews (Wicklow, Green Party)
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494. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection if provisions are being considered with regard to sole traders and the provision of redundancy to staff if they are to face closure due to the Covid-19 pandemic (details supplied). [28883/20]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The Redundancy Payments Act 1967, as amended, provides for the making of payments by employers to employees in respect of redundancy. It is the employer’s responsibility to pay statutory redundancy payments to all eligible employees. In the event that an employer is unable to pay due to financial difficulties, an application for payment from the Social Insurance Fund may be submitted to the Department.

When such a redundancy payment is made from the Social Insurance Fund, a debt is raised against the employer. The Department is obliged to make every effort to recover the debt owed, in accordance with Section 32 of the Act. The Department will engage with employers to establish their financial situation and seeks to recover the debt on a mutually agreed basis, including repayments by instalment, where appropriate.

In the case of sole traders, they do not have the protection of limited liability. In such instances the full liability remains with them or their estate. Since the start of the pandemic the Department has been very mindful of the difficulties that sole traders are facing. For a time, debt reminder letters did not issue. In some circumstances debt repayments were suspended until the business is in a better financial position. If a closure situation arises, the existing mechanisms are flexible enough to make statutory redundancy payments on behalf of employers and to adjust the repayment arrangements, thus easing the pressures on sole traders.

The Department’s policy is kept under review but any change to the policy must ensure that employer debt is recovered in full wherever possible.

Gary Gannon (Dublin Central, Social Democrats)
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495. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the average time from sole traders completing and submitting a form for the €1,000 grant to the local Intreo office to receipt of the funding. [28078/20]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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As announced in the July Stimulus package, the enterprise support grant was extended to assist eligible self-employed, including sole traders, who exit the COVID-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment or jobseekers schemes after 18th May 2020 to re-start their business which was closed due to the impact of the pandemic. Funding of €12 million has been provided for this grant.

Since the launch of the grant in August, my Department has paid almost €2.9 million to over 3,100 small businesses who have reopened their business.

My Department is committed to providing a quality service to all its applicants. This includes ensuring that applications are processed and that decisions on entitlement are made as quickly as possible. The national average time to approve a grant application is currently approximately two weeks.

I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.