Cormac Devlin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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198. To ask the Minister for Finance if his attention has been drawn to the case of a person (details supplied); if there is mechanism to get back the pandemic unemployment payment the employee would have been eligible for during the time the temporary wage subsidy scheme was being paid; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10025/21]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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The Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme (TWSS), which is provided for in section 28 of the Emergency Measures in the Public Interest (COVID-19) Act 2020, operated from 26 March 2020 to 31 August 2020 and was replaced by the Employment Wage Subsidy Scheme (EWSS) from 1 September 2020.

The scheme was introduced as an emergency measure to provide financial support to businesses that were severely impacted by the pandemic and enabled employees whose employers could no longer afford to pay wages receive subsidy payments. The scheme was not intended as a support to employers who employed people for childminding duties nor was it ever implied that it applied to them.

The TWSS operated on a self-assessment basis with the onus on applicants to satisfy themselves that they fully met the eligibility criteria for the scheme and to self-declare to Revenue that they correctly qualified. To assist employers in determining their eligibility, Revenue published very extensive guidance, which clearly set out the qualifying conditions, including the requirement that a minimum 25% decline in business turnover had occurred due to COVID-19 related restrictions.

The provision of childminding duties by an employee on behalf of their employer is not a business activity. A relevant business in the context of the TWSS generally includes manufacturing, buying, selling or supplying goods or services with a view to making a profit, none of which can be associated with employing a childminder. It is also not possible for a person who employs a childminder to meet the ‘25% turnover’ eligibility test as there is no turnover associated with engaging a childminder.

Where an employer incorrectly availed of the TWSS, then Revenue must seek full repayment of the payments made. In doing so, Revenue has assured me that it will work with employers to resolve any repayment difficulties to the greatest extent possible, providing there is meaningful engagement in concluding the matter.

Revenue has confirmed that the person in question has recently engaged with Revenue regarding the TWSS debt owed and has agreed repayment terms by way of adjustments to his future tax credits.

Questions relating to eligibility for the Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP) is a matter for my colleague the Minister for Social Protection.

Cormac Devlin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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199. To ask the Minister for Finance the measures being taken to ensure new businesses established in 2020 have access to the Covid restrictions support scheme (details supplied); if the scheme will be reviewed to ensure these businesses have access to appropriate support; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10026/21]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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The CRSS is a targeted support for businesses significantly impacted by restrictions introduced by the Government under public health regulations to combat the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. The support is available to companies, self-employed individuals and partnerships who carry on a trade or trading activities, the profits from which are chargeable to tax under Case I of Schedule D, from a business premises located in a region subject to restrictions introduced in line with the Living with Covid-19 Plan.

Details of CRSS are set out in Finance Act 2020 and detailed operational guidelines, which are based on the terms and conditions of the scheme as set out in the legislation, have been published on the Revenue website at:

To qualify under the scheme a business must, under specific terms of the Covid restrictions, be required to either prohibit or significantly restrict, customers from accessing their business premises to acquire goods or services, with the result that the business either has to temporarily close or to operate at a significantly reduced level. A business must be able to demonstrate that, because of the Covid restrictions, the turnover of the qualifying activity (“relevant business activity”) during the period of restrictions will be no more than 25% of the “relevant turnover amount”.

The “relevant turnover amount” is calculated by reference to a business’s average weekly turnover for the relevant business activity in a prior period, the identification of which period depends on whether the business is an “established business” or a “new business”. An established business is a business that commenced trading prior to 26 December 2019. The relevant turnover amount for a “new business”, i.e. a business commenced by a person between 26 December 2019 and 12 October 2020, is based on the average weekly turnover of the business in the period from commencement to 12 October 2020.

A new business who was prohibited from operating due to Government restrictions in a week or weeks in the period from commencement to 12 October, and who can demonstrate to Revenue that the business received no turnover in that week or weeks, can exclude the week or weeks when calculating the average weekly turnover. This ensures periods in 2020, during which a business was unable to operate because of public health restrictions, do not impact negatively on the business’s average weekly turnover and, therefore, on its entitlements under the scheme.