Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 27 May 2020
468. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation if her Department or the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government has lead authority for the restart grant; and the budget allocation to the scheme and other individual Department allocations. [8078/20]
View answer469. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation if the eligibility criteria for the recently announced restart grant for small businesses will be re-examined (details supplied); and if the scheme will be reviewed to ensure that trades persons and entrepreneurs working from their home offices can access the grant scheme. [8079/20]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 468 and 469 together.
On Friday, May 15th, 2020 the Government announced details of the new €250m Restart Grant providing direct grant aid to micro and small businesses to help them with the costs associated with reopening and re-employing workers following COVID-19 closures. The Restart Grant is funded by my Department and is being administered via local authorities from Friday May 22nd, 2020.
Eligible businesses who have stayed open throughout the crisis, as well as those who are reopening under Phase 1 (from 18th May) and Phase 2 (8th June) of the Government’s Roadmap for Reopening Society and Business, are encouraged to apply first for the Restart Grant. These applications will be prioritised for payment by the local authorities.
To avail of the Restart Grant, applicants must be a commercial business and be in the Local Authorities Commercial Rates Payment System and:
1. have an annual turnover of less than €5m and employ between 1 to 50 people;
2. have suffered a projected 25%+ loss in turnover to end June 2020;
3. commit to remain open or to reopen if it was closed;
4. declare the intention to retain employees that are on The Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme.
Subject to the qualifying criteria outlined above, any business that has a commercially rateable premises including those businesses with outstanding rates bills are eligible to make an application if they meet the criteria. The grant will be the amount of the rates demand in respect of calendar year 2019 only, subject to a minimum of €2,000 and a maximum of €10,000.
If a company is currently in a rateable premise but was not rate-assessed in 2019 it is still eligible to apply. The local authority can pay the grant based on an estimate of what the rates demand for 2019 would have been.
Applications for the Restart Grant can be made online directly to local authorities since Friday May 22nd and further information on the Grant can be obtained by contacting the Business Support Unit of the relevant local authority.
