Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 25 May 2021
196. Deputy Paul Kehoe asked the Minister for Finance if he will reconsider the connected party eligibility criteria for EWSS in an instance in which the connected party is a registered apprentice, but had not been on the payroll and paid at any time between 1 July 2019 and 30 June 2020; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28033/21]
View answerThe Financial Provisions (Covid-19) (No. 2) Act 2020 (Act No. 8 of 2020) provides for the introduction of the Employment Wage Subsidy Scheme (EWSS), which is an economy-wide enterprise support that gives a flat rate subsidy to qualifying employers based on the numbers of eligible employees on their payroll and the level of gross pay (to employees). The EWSS replaced the Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme (TWSS) on 1 September 2020.
The legislation provides that only connected persons on the payroll of the employer and paid at any time between 1 July 2019 to 30 June 2020 are eligible for EWSS. Connected parties include brothers, sisters, linear ancestors, linear descendants, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews of any individual and their spouse. Therefore, the EWSS cannot be claimed in respect of certain connected parties who were not on the employer payroll and paid at any time between 1 July 2019 and 30 June 2020.
However, this does not mean that employers cannot avail of the EWSS in respect of apprentices that correctly meet the eligibility criteria as set down in the legislation.
