Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 27 May 2020
439. Deputy Sean Sherlock asked the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation if businesses that do not pay rates are eligible for the restart grant if their respective landlords pay the rates directly; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [7682/20]
Amharc ar fhreagraOn Friday, May 15th, 2020 the Government announced details of the new €250m Restart Grant providing direct grant aid to micro and small businesses to help them with the costs associated with reopening and re-employing workers following COVID-19 closures; with the grant being administered by local authorities from Friday, May 22nd, 2020.
To avail of the Restart Grant, applicants must be a commercial business and be in the Local Authorities Commercial Rates Payment System and:
1. have an annual turnover of less than €5m and employ between 1 to 50 people;
2. have suffered a projected 25%+ loss in turnover to end June 2020;
3. commit to remain open or to reopen if it was closed;
4. declare the intention to retain employees that are on The Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme.
Subject to the qualifying criteria outlined above, any business that has a commercially rateable premises including those businesses with outstanding rates bills are eligible to make an application if they meet the criteria. The grant will be the amount of rates demand in respect of calendar year 2019 only, subject to a minimum of €2,000 and a maximum of €10,000.
If a company is currently in a rateable premise but was not rate-assessed in 2019 it is still eligible to apply. The local authority can pay the grant based on an estimate of what the rates demand for 2019 would have been.
Businesses that are part of a tenancy arrangement, and who pay their rates via the landlord, are entitled to apply.
Landlords who apportion their rates demand among their business tenants are not eligible in their own right. Applications should be submitted by the occupier, i.e. the tenant business.
Applications for the Restart Grant can be made online directly to local authorities since Friday, May 22nd and further information on the Grant can be obtained by contacting the Business Support Unit of the relevant local authority.
