Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour)
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268. To ask the Minister for Finance the total value in cash terms of the support availed of by a company (details supplied) under the temporary wage subsidy scheme; his views on whether this was an effective use of public funding in view of a recent report (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36731/20]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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The Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme (TWSS)was in place from 26 March to 31 August 2020 to support firm viability and preserve the relationship between the employer and employee insofar as possible.

The Deputy will be aware that under Section 851A of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997, Revenue is precluded by reason of its taxpayer confidentiality obligations, from providing any details in relation to the company in question. Notwithstanding this obligation, section 28(8) of the Emergency Measures in the Public Interest (Covid-19) Act 2020 required Revenue to publish a list of the name and address of all employers who registered for and received funding under the TWSS.  This legislative requirement did not extend to the publication of the amount of subsidy paid to individual employers registered for, and in receipt of, the TWSS.

The list of the names and addresses of the employers that received TWSS payments is available at on Revenue’s website:

The Deputy should be aware that while information in relation to the amount of subsidy paid to an employer is not publicly available, individual employees can see the amount of TWSS claimed by their employer on their behalf and included in their wages/salaries by examining their payslip or by logging on to their online Revenue myAccount.

Questions relating to an individual’s entitlements and rights in an employment context, what wages an employer may be legally obliged to pay employees in respect of hours worked and an employer’s capacity to pay wages to employees in light of the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the employer’s business are all matters that are outside the remit of the TWSS.

I wish to emphasise that the information outlined above relates to the general operation of the EWSS and does not relate to any one employer or a small group of employers within any one industry.