Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour)
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399. To ask the Minister for Finance if the Revenue Commissioners will clarify the formula that was used to calculate the average net weekly pay under the terms of the TWSS for a person paid fortnightly; if the Revenue Commissioners has evidence obtained during its TWSS compliance programme or otherwise that would suggest that the formula artificially inflated the ARNWP compared to an employee who was paid on a weekly or a monthly basis; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32462/20]

Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour)
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400. To ask the Minister for Finance if the Revenue Commissioners attention was drawn to situations which have arisen for employees that were paid on a fortnightly basis under the TWSS in which the employee has been required to return moneys to their employer due to claims by some employers that the Revenue Commissioners formula as applied to workers paid every two weeks makes the employer pay a higher amount than the employee was entitled to under the terms of the scheme; if this is the case, if the Revenue Commissioners will indicate the number of employees impacted; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32463/20]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 399 and 400 together.

The Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme (TWSS), which was provided for in section 28 of the Emergency Measures in the Public Interest (COVID-19) Act 2020, expired on 31 August 2020. Of necessity, the underlying legislation and the scheme itself were developed very quickly, having regard to the urgent Government objective of getting much needed assistance to employers and employees, where businesses had been seriously affected by the pandemic.

The amount of subsidy payable to eligible employees was based on their ‘average revenue net weekly pay’ (ARNWP) for January and February 2020, as returned by the employer to Revenue through the real-time PAYE system. The ARNWP calculation was based on the number of insurable weeks within the January/February period rather than the pay frequency used as this was a more accurate and consistent method across all types of employees.

I have been advised by Revenue that there was no evidence during the TWSS compliance programme or otherwise that would suggest that the formula artificially inflated the ARNWP compared to an employee who was paid on a weekly or a monthly basis. Furthermore, the questions of an individual’s entitlements and rights in an employment context, what wages an employer would be legally obliged to pay employees in respect of hours worked and an employer’s capacity to pay wages to employees in the light of the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the employer’s business were all matters that were outside the remit of the TWSS.

Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour)
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401. To ask the Minister for Finance if the Revenue Commissioners will set out the number of employees for whom employers accessed support through the TWSS for the final payment run under the terms of the scheme that were paid weekly, every two weeks and monthly in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32464/20]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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I would like to advise the Deputy that Revenue has recently prepared a detailed statistical report on the Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme (TWSS), following the filing of payslips for the period to end August. This report is published at www.revenue.ie/en/corporate/documents/research/statistical-overview-of-covid-19-twss.pdf.

Included on page 10 of this report is a breakdown of TWSS employees by pay frequency. Revenue has confirmed that the pay frequency breakdown as reflected in the report remained relatively unchanged throughout the operation of the scheme.

The information requested by the Deputy is also set out in the tables below:

For August, the final month that the TWSS was in operation, using the information in the above tables, the estimated numbers of TWSS employees at each pay frequency are set out in the table below: