Footfall is an indicator of trading and as we continue to adhere to public health guidelines in order to protect ourselves and each other, it has declined. Businesses and traders in Dublin city, and all across the country, are facing challenges at the present time and I understand this is a difficult time for many who are facing an uncertain future.
Remote working is a flexible working solution with significant potential for Ireland although it is not without its challenges. The current incidence of people working from home, as a result of the global pandemic, is at a scale unprecedented in our country. The public health advice for people to work from home, where possible, is in the best interest of our nation. The priority of the Government continues to be the well-being of our people and communities and the best economic policy is to put public health first.
To date the Government has provided enhanced provisions to a value of almost €20 billion including the €7.4 Billion July Stimulus Package. The July Stimulus Package was, as promised, a package of measures of sufficient scale that demonstrates the commitment this Government has to save enterprises, limit the damage to our economy wreaked by this pandemic and get our people back to work. Indeed, it is bigger in scale than most budgets and it is being deployed at speed. It includes:
A new Employment Wage Support Scheme that will succeed the Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme and run until April 2021;
Restart Grants of up to €25,000 available to a broad category of businesses such as hairdressers, sports clubs, cafes, restaurants, B&Bs, and independent hotels to help cover the costs incurred during closure and reopening costs;
The ‘Stay and Spend’ initiative will see consumers benefit by up to €125 each for expenditure on hospitality activities during the traditional ‘off peak’ for this sector;
A €10 million Restart Fund for the Tourism Sector;
The new €2 billion COVID-19 Credit Guarantee Scheme to provide Irish businesses with access to low cost loans as they respond to the impacts of COVID-19. This is the biggest ever state-backed loan guarantee in Ireland;
The recently reopened Microfinance Ireland Covid-19 Loan scheme; and
Several other initiatives to provide vital liquidity to all impacted firms have been introduced including rates waivers, temporary VAT reductions, delayed payment of PAYE and VAT debts, in part or in full, for a set period with no interest or penalties, and the early carry back of trading losses providing immediate cash-flow support to previously profitable companies.
Recognising the economic impact of Covid-19 on pubs, bars and nightclubs, and to assist planning and adaptation for their re-opening, an additional €16 million support package for this sector was announced at the end of August. This included a 40% Restart Grant Plus Top Up for pubs, bars and nightclubs that remain closed to help them to reopen, a waiver of court fees and associated excise and stamp duties relating to the renewal of pub and other liquor licences in 2020 and a waiver of excise duty on on-trade liquor licences on renewal in 2020.
Having come through the initial economic shock with unprecedented levels of State intervention stabilising the economy, the focus is now on sustaining the recovery in the face of uncertainty and disruption while seeking to minimise permanent loss of economic activity and employment. As such, the next steps in our recovery journey will be mapped out in the October Budget and the subsequent National Economic Plan.
As per the recent Budget 2021 Strategy announcement, Budget 2021 will see additional crisis-related supports tailored to those sectors and workers who are most in need.
The National Economic Plan will set out a vision for what our post-Covid economy will look like. The plan will set longer term objectives for the economy post crisis and identify policies and strategies to achieve those objectives. While the focus of Government action up to now has been on protecting workers, households and firms, the plan will need to look to the future and show how our economy can be positioned to exploit opportunities for growth in emerging sectors and in areas such as new ways of working, while also addressing how we will prepare for the transitioning of enterprises and workers in response to technology and climate change developments. Ireland’s flexible and skilled labour force has traditionally been a strength of the country and reskilling and upskilling of the labour force in response to anticipated future skills needs a core element to be progressed under the plan.
The plan will be progressed over the coming weeks and I would expect it to launch in November.
