Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 9 September 2021
223. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Finance the projected cost of extending the employment wage subsidy scheme in its current form until 31 March 2022 and then from 1 April 2022 to 30 June 2022 with eligibility criteria amended such that businesses qualify in circumstances in which they have experienced a 50% reduction in turnover in the relevant period and reduced rates as in a table (details supplied). [43169/21]
View answerI am informed that, on an indicative basis and assuming that all other elements remain broadly equal, it estimated very roughly that the cost of extending the Employment Wage Subsidy Scheme in its current form would be of the order of €1.4 billion per quarter for Q4, 2021 and Q1, 2022.
I am further informed that extending the scheme in Q2, 2022 using the rate structure outlined in the correspondence provided by the Deputy is very roughly estimated to cost of the order of €1 billion for the quarter. However, this estimate is provided on the basis that, with the exception of the reduced rates, all other elements of the scheme remain broadly the same.
It is not possible to estimate even indicatively the impact which a change in turnover criteria as outlined by the Deputy would have on the above rough estimate for Q2, 2022. The reason for this is that employers are not required to report their turnover reduction to Revenue to avail of EWSS. As such, no turnover data are held that would enable the impact to be quantified in cost terms.
