Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats)
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212. To ask the Minister for Finance if hospitality businesses will be eligible in December 2021 to be given the opportunity to requalify for the employment wage subsidy scheme supports in January 2022; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [61558/21]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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Section 28B of the Emergency Measures in the Public Interest (Covid-19) Act 2020 provides for the Employment Wage Subsidy Scheme (EWSS) which is an economy-wide enterprise support for eligible businesses. EWSS provides a flat-rate subsidy to qualifying employers, based on the number of qualifying employees on the payroll.

As an economy-wide support, the EWSS has played a central role in supporting businesses, encouraging employment and helping to maintain the link between employers and employees since July 2020. To date (9 December 2021), payments of over €5.73 billion and PRSI credit of over €902 million have been granted to 51,700 employers in respect of some 696,900 workers.

The Finance (Covid-19 and Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2021, signed into law on 19 July, provided for the extension of EWSS to 31 December 2021. It also provided that for employers to be eligible for the EWSS, they must be able to demonstrate that their business will experience a 30% reduction in turnover or customer orders for the calendar year 2021 compared to the calendar year 2019 and that this disruption to normal business is caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

As part of my Budget Day announcement I outlined that the EWSS will remain in place in a graduated form until 30 April 2022. While the scheme will be closed to new employers from 1 January 2022, eligible employers who are availing of EWSS at 31 December 2021 will continue to be supported by the scheme, if they so choose, until 30 April 2022. Therefore, in relation to the Deputy’s question, if hospitality businesses were eligible in December 2021, remain registered for EWSS and received EWSS payments, they will continue to qualify for the EWSS supports in January 2022. There is also the legislative requirement that employers must have a tax clearance certificate to be eligible to join the EWSS and, must continue to meet the requirements for tax clearance for the duration of the scheme.

The EWSS legislation requires that immediately at the end of each month, from the introduction of the scheme in August 2020 onwards, each employer availing of the scheme must carry out a self-review of its business circumstances and if it is manifest to the employer that it no longer meets the eligibility test for qualification for the scheme, then the employer must immediately cease claiming wage subsidy payments.

To assist employers in conducting a monthly review of its continuing eligibility for the scheme, Revenue have provided an EWSS Eligibility Review Formthrough its Revenue Online Service (ROS). From 21 July 2021, completing and submitting an EWSS Eligibility Review Formto Revenue has been necessary to avail of EWSS supports, with details of an employer’s monthly eligibility review check to be submitted by the 15^thof the following month. For EWSS claims in 2022, the eligibility review undertaken on the last day of December 2021 will need to be completed and submitted to Revenue by 15 January 2022.

Finally, as announced on 9 December last, it has been decided to extend the enhanced rates of EWSS for the months of December 2021 and January 2022 to give certainty to businesses when they need it most and to help maintain the link between employers and employees in sectors adversely affected by the most recent public health restrictions. From 1 February 2022, the original two-rate structure of €203 per week and €151.50 per week will apply; for March and April 2022, a flat rate subsidy of €100 per week will apply and the scheme will end on 30 April 2022. These changes are being provided for in Finance Bill 2021.

The Government and I have been clear that there will be no cliff edge to supports for employers but we have also been clear that the EWSS cannot run indefinitely, nor is it sustainable to continue with the enhanced rates for a prolonged period of time given the very substantial costs to the Exchequer.

At the same time, as has been the case since the start of the pandemic, the Government will continue to monitor developments closely.

Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats)
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213. To ask the Minister for Finance if he will permit automatic qualification for the Covid restrictions support scheme in cases in which hospitality businesses qualify for the employment wage subsidy scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [61559/21]

Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats)
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214. To ask the Minister for Finance if he will apply a 30% revenue drop threshold for the Covid restrictions support scheme supports for hospitality businesses; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [61560/21]

Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats)
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215. To ask the Minister for Finance if he will set the weekly cap on the Covid restrictions support scheme payments at €25,000 in order to ensure larger hospitality businesses are not disadvantaged by the scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [61561/21]

Seán Canney (Galway East, Independent)
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219. To ask the Minister for Finance if he will remove the Covid restrictions support scheme limit of €5,000 per week; if the basis of calculation is 12% of 2019 turnover, then that full amount should be allowed given larger properties also incur larger costs and should therefore not have a limit imposed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [61659/21]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 213 to 215, inclusive, and 219 together.

The Covid Restrictions Support Scheme (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 Covid restrictions as set out in the relevant legislation.

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. For the purposes of CRSS, a qualifying “business premises” is a building or other similar fixed physical structure in which a business activity is ordinarily carried on.

The CRSS applies to businesses carrying on trading activities from a business premises located in a region subject to restrictions, which requires the business to prohibit or considerably restrict customers from accessing their business premises and as a result, is operating at less than 25% of turnover in 2019.

It is not sufficient that the trade of a business has been impacted because of a reduction in customer demand as a consequence of Covid-19. The scheme only applies where, as a direct result of the specific terms of the Government restrictions, the business is required to either prohibit or significantly restrict access to its business premises.

The cash payment is 10% of the average weekly turnover of the business in 2019 up to €20,000 and 5% thereafter, subject to a maximum weekly payment of €5,000, for each week that the business is affected by the Covid restrictions.

With the easing of Covid restrictions in recent months many businesses are no longer significantly restricted from operating and therefore are no longer eligible for the CRSS. However, eligible businesses have been able to claim enhanced restart week payments to assist them with the costs of reopening. A total of €704m has been paid out under the CRSS in respect of 25,500 premises.

The public health restrictions currently in force, require nightclubs and discotheques to remain closed until 9 January 2022 and they will be eligible to receive the CRSS until then.

Under the relevant legislation, the CRSS was due to end on 31 December 2021 but is now being extended to the end of January 2022. Provision is also being made to allow the Minister to extend the CRSS up to 30 April 2022 by Ministerial order if deemed necessary.

Following the agreement of Government on 3 December 2021, my Department and Revenue sought to develop a proposal to modify the CRSS to provide for a supplementary subsidy (in addition to EWSS) for businesses which are subject to the latest restrictions on operating. The objective of the modified scheme was to provide targeted, timely and sector-specific support to supplement the reduced EWSS payments to the sector.

However, on further consideration and analysis of the data on CRSS, it proved to be administratively complex to design such a scheme and it would not be possible to have it operational ahead of Christmas as was hoped. The proposed modifications which included a change to both the turnover threshold and the rate, as well as consideration of a higher weekly cap, had the potential to significantly increase the cost of the scheme, particularly in the context of uncertainly around the trajectory of Covid-19 and the impact of the Omicron variant.

Therefore a decision was taken that a restoration of the higher EWSS rate was a relatively more efficient and effective way to support businesses in the immediate term. The CRSS will remain in place to support businesses who are required to close or significantly restrict customers from accessing their business premises, and who meet the qualifying criteria.

I propose to introduce amendments to the Finance Bill 2021 to give effect to these changes in the Seanad this week.