Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 10 November 2020
39. Deputy Dara Calleary asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the recoupment schedule for local authorities to receive in full moneys paid out under the restart and restart plus grants; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35039/20]
View answerThe restart grant and the restart grant plus have been important for businesses but we need to assure local authorities that they will receive refunds. What are our plans for the grants in the future?
I will abridge the response so I can fit it all in. There have been two grants, the restart grant and the restart grant plus. The first was worth about €250 million and the second about €300 million but we topped it up because there were top-ups along the way. About €100 million or so was transferred from the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform to my Department just the other day, and we are going to get that out to local authorities to cover the costs of the restart grant plus and some appeals that came in. There are those who did not get around to applying for the first grant but who were entitled to both. We are honouring that. There are no plans for any new restart grants, really because the scheme has been taken over by the Covid restrictions support scheme, CRSS, which pertains to the weekly grant that is now given to any business that is closed as a result of the Covid restrictions. That is not to say they might not come back again in some form but there is no plan at present.
I welcome the fact that the money has been transferred. This is budget season for local authorities. They need certainty on cash flow.
The Minister mentioned CRSS. There are huge anomalies beginning to appear. For instance, event companies and food service companies will not be able to access the scheme. Are there plans to review the conditions under which CRSS is going to operate given that it excludes many small businesses?
The Minister for Finance, Deputy Donohoe, is in charge of that scheme. He is working on it. The scheme is for businesses that are closed as a result of Covid restrictions or that have seen a 75% reduction in turnover, but the businesses have to have a premises. If we open it to all businesses that do not have a premises, it would be a very different scheme and a much more expensive one. Having said that, however, we are trying to work around issues associated with businesses that need financial support but that are getting nothing. Many are in the arts and tourism sectors and they are going to be helped out through a different fund and budget under the control of the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, Deputy Catherine Martin. If, however, we find businesses that fall between schemes and get no grant, we will try to come up with a solution for them. I hate the term "under constant review" but the scheme is one of those schemes we accept will need to be amended as we go along so businesses that have been closed can get a grant and survive.
