Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 3 February 2021
16. Deputy Joe Carey asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if local authorities can exercise discretion in cases in which applicants failed to lodge applications for the business restart grant due to ill health, ill health of a family member or other exceptional circumstances; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5357/21]
View answerThe Restart Grant Plus Scheme closed to new applications on 31 October 2020 and was administered by the local authorities. There are no mechanisms in place to allow late applications and the scheme has been superseded by a number of measures in Budget 2021.
The Revenue Commissioners’ Covid Restrictions Support Scheme, or ‘CRSS’, effectively replaced the Restart Grant Plus as part of Budget 2021. The CRSS offers a targeted, timely and temporary sector-specific support to businesses forced to close or trade at significantly reduced levels due to COVID- 19 of up to €5,000 per week.
The level of assistance now being provided to businesses across all sectors is unprecedented and ahead of that available in many other jurisdictions. We have sought to ensure that we had an appropriate mix of measures in place to support workers and businesses, so businesses can reopen and restore employment as we suppress the COVID-19 virus.
The Restart Grant Plus Scheme was only one part of the wider range of schemes available to firms of all sizes, which includes the wage subsidy scheme, low-cost loans, write-off of commercial rates and deferred tax liabilities, all of which will help to improve cashflow amongst SMEs. A regularly updated list of enterprise measures for businesses is available on my Department’s website.
