Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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220. To ask the Minister for Finance the supports available to small start-up businesses that have not begun trading yet but have been attempting to start up in the midst of the Covid-19 crisis; if directors of such start-up companies can avail of any income supports; if a company (details supplied) that is attempting to trade since the crisis can avail of funding supports under current Covid specific supports for businesses; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11950/21]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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The main direct Covid-19 supports under the aegis of my Department and the Revenue Commissioners are the Employment Wage Subsidy Scheme (EWSS) and the Covid Restriction Support Scheme (CRSS).

The EWSS was legislated for under the Financial Provisions (Covid-19) (No. 2) Act 2020. The scheme is an emergency measure to deal with the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the economy and to deliver an enterprise support to employers based on business eligibility delivering a per-head subsidy on a flat rate basis.

The EWSS is administered by Revenue on a 'self-assessment' basis. The eligibility criteria for EWSS states that in addition to having tax clearance for the duration of the scheme, an employer must be able to demonstrate that their business is expected to experience a 30% reduction in turnover or orders between 1 July and 31 December 2020 for 2020 paydates and between 1 January to 30 June 2021 for 2021 paydates, looking at the period as a whole rather than on a monthly basis; and this disruption is caused by COVID-19.

For 2020 paydates, this reduction in turnover or orders was relative to

- the same period in 2019 where the business was in existence prior to 1 July 2019;

- where the business commenced trading between 1 July and 1 November 2019, the date of commencement to 31 December 2019; or

- where a business commenced after 1 November 2019, the projected turnover or orders for 1 July 2020 to 31 December 2020.

For 2021 paydates, this reduction in turnover or orders is relative to

- the same period in 2019 where the business was in existence prior to 1 January 2019;

- where the business commenced trading between 1 January and 1 May 2019, the date of commencement to 30 June 2019; or

- where a business commenced after 1 May 2019, the projected turnover or orders for 1 January 2021 to 30 June 2021.

Proprietary directors are directors who can control, either directly or indirectly, more than 15% of the share capital of a company.

Revenue issued a press release on 31 August 2020 confirming that the EWSS can be claimed in respect of proprietary directors from 1 September 2020, subject to the following conditions:

- the employer meets the eligibility criteria for the EWSS,

- the proprietary director is on the payroll of the eligible employer, and

- the proprietary director has been paid wages which were reported to Revenue on the payroll of the eligible employer at any stage between 1 July 2019 and 30 June 2020.

Where a person is a proprietary director of two or more eligible companies, a claim for an EWSS can only be submitted in respect of a single company.

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.

Additional information on the wide range of supports available to help businesses impacted by the COVID-19 crisis is available on the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment website at .

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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221. To ask the Minister for Finance if his attention has been drawn to the fact that the Covid-19 restrictions support scheme is being denied to dog training, grooming and day care businesses on the grounds that they could have remained open, which would be entirely out of step with the provisions of level 5; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11954/21]

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. 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 carry on a trade or trading activities, the profits from which are chargeable to tax under Case I of Schedule D. The trade must be carried on from a business premises that is located in a region subject to restrictions introduced in line with the Government’s ‘Living with Covid-19 Plan’, with the result that the business is required to prohibit or considerably restrict customers from accessing its business premises.

To make a claim under the CRSS, a business must be able to demonstrate that, because of the Covid restrictions, the turnover of the business in the period for which the restrictions are in operation, and for which a claim is made, will be no more than 25% of an amount equal to the average weekly turnover of the business in 2019 (or average weekly turnover in 2020 in the case of a new business) multiplied by the number of weeks in the period for which a claim is made.

Where, as a result of the restrictions, a business is forced to temporarily close or is required to operate at significantly reduced levels, the business may qualify for support under the scheme. It is not sufficient that a business is experiencing a reduction in demand for its services because of Covid-19. To qualify under the scheme, the reduction in business activity must be because, under the specific terms of the restrictions in operation, customers are restricted from accessing the business premises in which the business activity is carried on.

The Government has published a list of essential services (most recently updated on 2 February 2021) which may continue even where restrictions in line with Level 5 of the Living with Covid Plan are in operation. The provision of veterinary, animal welfare and related services are regarded as essential services.

If a business supplies a combination of essential and non-essential services relating to dogs, then the business may qualify for CRSS in respect of that part of its business which relates to the provision of non-essential services. If the Deputy’s question is based on a particular case, it is recommended that the full facts of the case are submitted to Revenue so that they can make a determination on any aspects of the business concerned that qualify for CRSS.