Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 23 June 2020
58. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Finance if the temporary wage subsidy scheme will be made available to a person (details supplied) in County Kerry who was unable to return to work after maternity leave due to the Covid-19 crisis; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12016/20]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe eligibility criteria for the Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme (TWSS) requires that employees, whether full-time or part-time, are on the employer payroll on 29 February 2020 and have received wage payments in January and February 2020. However, the rules as set down, unintentionally did not consider employees who were on maternity leave or adoptive leave at that time and did not feature on the employer payroll on 29 February or receive wage payments in January or February 2020.
To rectify the unintended anomaly as quickly as possible a process that facilitates employers in claiming the TWSS in respect of eligible employees returning from maternity or adoptive leave since 26 March 2020 was put in place. Revenue can also back-date the subsidy payment to the later of, 26 March 2020, the date the employer registered for the TWSS, or the date of the person’s return to employment. No retrospection is applicable if the returning employee was in receipt of the Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP) from the Department of Employment and Social Protection for the period in question.
To provide the necessary information to Revenue, employers should log on to Revenue’s Online Service (ROS), myEnquiries platform, and complete a short form with the required details relating to the employee returning from maternity or adoptive leave. It is not possible for Revenue to calculate the subsidy amount for the employee without this information.
Revenue has advised me that it has not received any information regarding the person in question from her employer and as such cannot calculate any subsidy payment for her. Revenue has also confirmed to me that as soon as this information is provided it will calculate the person’s entitlement as quickly as possible.
