Jackie Cahill (Tipperary, Fianna Fail)
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1. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if he will consider the increased roll-out of the restart grant from local authorities for businesses in the hospitality sector as a result of the continued Covid-19 related closure; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4787/21]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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The Restart Grant Plus Scheme, which closed to new application on 31st October, was only 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 Revenue Commissioners’ Covid Restrictions Support Scheme, or ‘CRSS’, effectively replaced the Restart Grant Plus as part of Budget 2021. The CRSS offers a targeted, timely and temporary sector-specific support to businesses forced to close or trade at significantly reduced levels due to COVID-19 of up to €5,000 per week. Accordingly, there are currently no plans to reopen the Restart Grant Plus Scheme to further applications.

The level of assistance now being provided to businesses across all sectors is unprecedented and ahead of that available in other jurisdictions, and we have sought to ensure that we had an appropriate mix of measures in place to support workers and businesses, so businesses can reopen and restore employment as we suppress the COVID-19 virus.

A regularly updated list of enterprise measures for businesses is available on my Department’s website.