Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 10 November 2022
147. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Finance the number of companies in Dublin 6W, 8, 10, 12, 20 and 22 that received the EWSS and TWSS; the number being asked to repay either or both the EWSS and TWSS; the number of employees in those companies; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53838/22]
View answerI am advised by Revenue that is it not possible to provide a breakdown by Dublin postcode, but to the extent available, Dublin-wide statistics are provided for the Deputy.
The Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme (TWSS) was provided for in section 28 of the Emergency Measures in the Public Interest (COVID-19) Act 2020, as amended, and the Employment Wage Subsidy Scheme (EWSS) was provided for in section 28B of that Act, as amended. Both of these economy-wide supports played a central role in helping to maintain the link between employers and employees between March 2020 and May 2022. TWSS provided supports to over 689,000 employees linked to over 67,000 employers throughout the scheme. EWSS provided supports to almost 52,000 employers to secure employment for nearly 746,000 employees.
19,900 employers in Dublin received at least one TWSS payment in respect of pay dates between March 2020 and August 2020.
15,100 employers in Dublin received at least one EWSS payment in respect of pay dates between August 2020 and May 2022.
As the Deputy will aware, employers were required to demonstrate, to the satisfaction of Revenue, that its business experienced a decline of turnover or customer order values of 25% and 30% for TWSS and EWSS respectively, and that the decline in trade was as a result of a disruption to business caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Furthermore, employers were required to be tax compliant.
The majority of companies that participated in the subsidy schemes did so because they had a reasonable expectation that their business would suffer a decline in turnover or customer orders as a result of trade disruption caused by the pandemic. I am satisfied that the schemes operated as a very effective and responsive instrument, both to keep the economy afloat during the pandemic and to aid economic recovery post pandemic.
The schemes operated on a on a self-assessment basis, with employers claiming the subsidies through their payroll submissions to Revenue. Detailed guidance was provided on both schemes.
To expedite TWSS subsidy payments and support employers during the early stages of the pandemic, Revenue paid qualifying employers with eligible employees the maximum wage subsidy of €410 per qualifying payslip per week, or a multiple of this amount for fortnightly and monthly pay frequencies. The employer was instructed by Revenue on how to calculate the correct subsidy for each employee and advised to hold the excess payment as this would need to be repaid to Revenue. In March 2021, Revenue conducted a reconciliation exercise, using data from its systems, which was provided by employers via their payroll submissions. Overpayments primarily occurred in the first five weeks of TWSS, during its transitional phase. Following the reconciliation exercise, approximately 12,200 employers in Dublin were asked to repay that part of the TWSS subsidy which had been overpaid. According to the latest available data, these entities employ approximately 369,900 individuals.
In view of the substantial amounts of public money invested in these schemes, Revenue undertook a programme of compliance checks to ensure that claimant employers were properly eligible and complied fully with scheme requirements. Generally, these checks identified a very high level of compliance by claimant employers but, in both schemes, it was necessary to recover ineligible subsidy payments from a small proportion of employers.
In relation to the TWSS, Revenue has confirmed to me that compliance activity resulted in recoupment of over €38.4 million in overpayments from 1,924 (2.8%) participating employers. 214 of these employers are in Dublin and are associated with €4.7 million in overpayments. The vast majority of their employees are included in the 369,900 individuals referred to previously, as there was a large degree of employer overlap between TWSS compliance and TWSS reconciliation activities. Those employers who qualified for the Debt Warehousing scheme had the option to add the TWSS overpayments to their warehoused debt.
Revenue advises that it undertook a multi-faceted risk-based approach to compliance checks to safeguard the integrity of the EWSS. This included issuing an invitation to some 42,500 employers who had not provided eligibility documentation and who received subsidy payments to perform a final self-review of their EWSS eligibility for all periods of the scheme, utilising an Excel based calculator, which was available on the Revenue website. Any over claims identified by employers by 30 September 2022 were dealt with without the imposition of interest or penalties, and declared liabilities were included in the Debt Warehouse by those employers who are eligible to participate in Revenue’s Debt Warehousing scheme.
In relation to the EWSS, Revenue has confirmed to me that €155.1 million of EWSS has been recouped from 5,700 (10%) participating employers. This includes both repayments as a result of compliance checks, and amounts voluntarily repaid by some eligible employers. Approximately 1,700 employers in Dublin have repaid the EWSS subsidy in part or in full. According to the latest available data, they employ approximately 89,800 individuals.
