Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein)
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347. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the reason the enterprise support grant for businesses impacted by Covid-19 is not available for those who closed their Covid-19 pandemic unemployment payment on or after 1 May 2021 given many businesses reopened in May and are excluded from the scheme due to the 1 June 2021 date; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36026/21]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The Enterprise Support Grant (ESG) is available to eligible self-employed individuals, including sole traders, who close their Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP) and re-start their business. The closure of PUP is a precondition of the grant and provides a financial support towards the re-opening of a business.

I have recently extended the grant to make it available to those who claimed the grant in 2020 but who found themselves back on the PUP in 2021. The opportunity of a second grant, worth up to €1,000, applies to all eligible self-employed recipients who close their PUP on or after 1 June 2021, in line with the announcement of the measure. The grant remains available to all first time eligible self-employed individuals upon the closure of their PUP claim at any time.

Almost 9,300 ESG applications have been approved since the introduction of this grant with approximately €8.6m paid to small businesses.

I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.