Christopher O'Sullivan (Cork South West, Fianna Fail)
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248. To ask the Minister for Finance if consideration will be given to extending the 31 December 2021 deadline for companies to register for the employment wage subsidy scheme given that some companies experienced difficulties in accessing their accountant due to disruptions over the Christmas period; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3527/22]

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 in respect of eligible employees. The Finance (Covid-19 and Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2021 was published on 23 June and enacted on 19 July 2021 and extended EWSS to 31 December 2021. The Finance Act 2021, was published on 21 October 2021 and enacted on 21 December 2021 and extended EWSS to 30 April 2022 for eligible employers who are correctly registered for EWSS on or before 31 December 2021.

As the Deputy, will be aware, eligibility to EWSS is based on the employer demonstrating that its business is likely to experience a 30% reduction in turnover or orders during a specific reference period and that this disruption to business is caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. In addition, the business must also have tax clearance.

Since the introduction of the scheme, each employer availing of the scheme must carry out a self-review of its business circumstances at the end of each month 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. For July to December 2021, employers provide to Revenue details of this eligibility review on a monthly Eligibility Review Form (ERF), filed through ROS. This form assists employers in determining whether they are eligible, ensuring timely deregistration and avoiding incorrect subsidy claims.

It should be noted that employers who became ineligible for EWSS from 1 December 2021 on foot of the eligibility review they undertook at the end of November 2021 could contact Revenue via My Enquiries by 15 January 2022 to amend the December projections included in their November 2021 ERF, where the projections they prepared on 30 November were overstated having regard to the public health restrictions introduced on 20 December. Once the December projections have been updated by Revenue, the employer can then amend their December payroll submissions to include the EWSS claim. Any December payroll submissions already filed, that included an EWSS claim, do not need to be resubmitted. These are automatically processed by Revenue once the November ERF is amended. These employers were also required to file their December ERF, by 15 January 2022.

On 21 December 2021, in light of public health restrictions announced on 17 December 2021, I announced a re-opening of the scheme for certain employers who might otherwise be ineligible. These were employers who were previously eligible for EWSS, but as their business activity was at a level where they would not have met the turnover qualification criteria, they were not eligible on 31 December 2021. In light of the restrictions introduced last December, some businesses may return to a position where they require EWSS support and as such the EWSS re-opened to certain employers from 1 January 2022.

Where employers determined they were eligible to re-enter the scheme, they could do so by completing and submitting a short template of required information to Revenue via MyEnquiries by 15 January 2022. The relevant template and further information can be found in Revenue’s guidelines on how employers can re-enter the EWSS.

If employers in either of those cohorts missed the 15 January deadline, I am advised that a submission can be submitted to Revenue by 31 January requesting that their late submission be considered. This submission should include details as to the reason the initial deadline was not met. I am further advised that Revenue will assess each late submission on a case by case basis to determine whether the late submission will be accepted.