Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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Footfall is an indicator of trading and as we continue to adhere to public health guidelines in order to protect ourselves and each other, it has declined. Businesses and traders in Dublin city, and all across the country, are facing challenges at the present time and I understand this is a difficult time for many who are facing an uncertain future.

Remote working is a flexible working solution with significant potential for Ireland although it is not without its challenges. The current incidence of people working from home, as a result of the global pandemic, is at a scale unprecedented in our country. The public health advice for people to work from home, where possible, is in the best interest of our nation. The priority of the Government continues to be the well-being of our people and communities and the best economic policy is to put public health first.

To date the Government has provided enhanced provisions to a value of almost €20 billion including the €7.4 Billion July Stimulus Package. The July Stimulus Package was, as promised, a package of measures of sufficient scale that demonstrates the commitment this Government has to save enterprises, limit the damage to our economy wreaked by this pandemic and get our people back to work. Indeed, it is bigger in scale than most budgets and it is being deployed at speed. It includes:

A new Employment Wage Support Scheme that will succeed the Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme and run until April 2021;

Restart Grants of up to €25,000 available to a broad category of businesses such as hairdressers, sports clubs, cafes, restaurants, B&Bs, and independent hotels to help cover the costs incurred during closure and reopening costs;

The ‘Stay and Spend’ initiative will see consumers benefit by up to €125 each for expenditure on hospitality activities during the traditional ‘off peak’ for this sector;

A €10 million Restart Fund for the Tourism Sector;

The new €2 billion COVID-19 Credit Guarantee Scheme to provide Irish businesses with access to low cost loans as they respond to the impacts of COVID-19. This is the biggest ever state-backed loan guarantee in Ireland;

The recently reopened Microfinance Ireland Covid-19 Loan scheme; and

Several other initiatives to provide vital liquidity to all impacted firms have been introduced including rates waivers, temporary VAT reductions, delayed payment of PAYE and VAT debts, in part or in full, for a set period with no interest or penalties, and the early carry back of trading losses providing immediate cash-flow support to previously profitable companies.

Recognising the economic impact of Covid-19 on pubs, bars and nightclubs, and to assist planning and adaptation for their re-opening, an additional €16 million support package for this sector was announced at the end of August. This included a 40% Restart Grant Plus Top Up for pubs, bars and nightclubs that remain closed to help them to reopen, a waiver of court fees and associated excise and stamp duties relating to the renewal of pub and other liquor licences in 2020 and a waiver of excise duty on on-trade liquor licences on renewal in 2020.

Having come through the initial economic shock with unprecedented levels of State intervention stabilising the economy, the focus is now on sustaining the recovery in the face of uncertainty and disruption while seeking to minimise permanent loss of economic activity and employment. As such, the next steps in our recovery journey will be mapped out in the October Budget and the subsequent National Economic Plan.

As per the recent Budget 2021 Strategy announcement, Budget 2021 will see additional crisis-related supports tailored to those sectors and workers who are most in need.

The National Economic Plan will set out a vision for what our post-Covid economy will look like. The plan will set longer term objectives for the economy post crisis and identify policies and strategies to achieve those objectives. While the focus of Government action up to now has been on protecting workers, households and firms, the plan will need to look to the future and show how our economy can be positioned to exploit opportunities for growth in emerging sectors and in areas such as new ways of working, while also addressing how we will prepare for the transitioning of enterprises and workers in response to technology and climate change developments. Ireland’s flexible and skilled labour force has traditionally been a strength of the country and reskilling and upskilling of the labour force in response to anticipated future skills needs a core element to be progressed under the plan.

The plan will be progressed over the coming weeks and I would expect it to launch in November.

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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24. To ask the Minister for Trade, Enterprise and Employment the supports which an enterprise can receive for reopening; and the way in which it varies for enterprises in areas in which level 3 restrictions have been applied. [29161/20]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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Earlier this week we announced that as of 6th October at 12 midnight all parts of the country will move to Level Three of the Government’s Framework for Restrictive Measures for a period of three weeks. I understand that these restrictions will have a significant impact on businesses and employment around the country.

In recognition of the impact of these restrictions on businesses, a 30% top-up to the Restart Plus grant will be provided to help support those affected through the three-week period. In addition, in recognising that Level 3 is being extended in Dublin and Donegal beyond the three-week period, businesses in these counties will be eligible for a further 20% and 10% top-up respectively.

The Restart Grant Plus provides direct grant aid to businesses with up to 250 employees to help them with the costs associated with reopening and re-employing workers following COVID-19 closures. The grant is a contribution towards the cost of re-opening or keeping a business operational and re-connecting with employees and customers. The grant could also be used to defray ongoing fixed costs during closure, for example, utilities, insurance, refurbishment or for measures to ensure employee and customer safety.

In most cases the grant will be the amount of the rates assessment for the premises for 2019, with a minimum grant is €4,000 and the maximum grant is €25,000 (or maximum of €15,000 for businesses that received the maximum of €10,000 under the original Restart Grant Scheme). Top-ups were previously introduced in August and September for eligible businesses in Kildare, Laois, Offaly, Dublin and Donegal in respect of a further period of restrictions, for ‘wet’ pubs, bars and nightclubs nationwide that re-opened on 21 September, and for ‘wet’ pubs, bars and nightclubs in Dublin that remain closed.

Businesses that accessed funding through the original round of the Restart Grant Scheme are eligible for a top-up payment to a total combined value of the revised maximum grant level. Applications are made through the Local Authorities. Full details and application forms are available on the websites of all Local Authorities until 31st October 2020.

The Restart Grant Plus is just one part of the wider range of schemes available to firms of all sizes, which includes the wage subsidy scheme, low-cost loans, write-off of commercial rates and deferred tax liabilities, all of which will help to improve cashflow amongst SMEs.

The Local Enterprise Offices (LEOs) are there to help small and medium-sized businesses during this crisis. They are a ‘first-stop-shop’ for businesses providing advice and guidance, financial assistance and other supports to business owners throughout the country. The LEOs also offer a business mentoring service, where they can assist enterprises in identifying what supports are appropriate and can also assist with the completion of applications for those schemes.

Additionally, the LEOs have moved training programmes, workshops and networking meet-ups online, covering areas such as cash management in a crisis, leading your business through COVID-19 and advice for employers impacted by the crisis. The LEOs also launched the LEO Client Training Initiative which is a new ‘Lunch & Learn’ live training webinar series. This is open and accessible to all LEO client companies and prospective clients across the country, with no registration or sign-up required.

The LEOs also provide Trading Online Vouchers to assist micro-enterprises to establish an on-line presence quickly. New flexibilities to the Scheme were introduced in April including reducing the requirement for co-funding from 50% to 10% and allowing businesses to apply for a second voucher of up to €2,500 where they have successfully utilised their first one. There has been a positive response to these changes and significant uptake of the Scheme.

On 14th September last I announced the Micro-Enterprise Assistance Fund which will help businesses with fewer than 10 employees, which are ineligible for existing grants, with a grant of up to €1,000 to help them adapt and invest to rebuild their business. Businesses impacted by a 30% reduction in turnover due to COVID-19 restrictions or downturn in trade will be eligible provided they commit to reopening and to hiring and sustaining employment. It is estimated that about 2,000 businesses nationwide will benefit.

All COVID-19 Business Schemes are under constant review in terms of the evolving situation and will be adapted as circumstances dictate. In that regard, I can assure the Deputy that I will continue to work with my colleagues across Government and all stakeholders to examine how best to further assist businesses impacted by COVID-19 as part of the forthcoming Budget and National Economic Plan.