Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 8 September 2022
364. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Finance the status of the compliance programme for the employment wage subsidy scheme; the number of employers that have been inspected; the number of cases requiring further investigation; the number of employers that have been sanctioned; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42725/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraSection 28B of the Emergency Measures in the Public Interest (Covid-19) Act 2020 provided for the Employment Wage Subsidy Scheme (EWSS) which was an economy-wide enterprise support for eligible businesses in respect of eligible employees. Eligibility was based on the employer demonstrating that the employer’s business was likely to experience a 30% reduction in turnover or customer order values during a specific reference period and that this disruption to business was caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. The business was also required to have tax clearance.
At the end of each month, from the introduction of the Scheme in August 2020 onwards, each employer availing of the scheme was required to carry out a self-review of its business circumstances having regard to the eligibility conditions for qualification for the scheme, and where the eligibility requirements were no longer satisfied, then the employer was required to immediately cease claiming wage subsidy payments. For the months of July to December 2021 inclusive, employers provided to Revenue details of this eligibility review on a monthly Eligibility Review Form (ERF) filed through ROS.
Revenue’s administration of the scheme was on a self-assessment basis, with employers claiming the subsidy through their payroll submission to Revenue. If employers subsequently determined they were not eligible, or they wished to voluntarily remove themselves from the scheme, they did so through their payroll submission and repaid the subsidies claimed.
I am advised by Revenue that it has it undertaken a multi-faceted risk-based approach to compliance checks to safeguard the integrity of the EWSS. This included real time checking of payroll submissions and cross-referencing claim data against other Revenue data sources to identify anomalies or trends requiring attention. The real time checking procedures were supported by engagement with employers, to facilitate timely resolution of issues, and to ensure employers claimed the correct EWSS entitlement, or ceased claiming where they no longer had an entitlement.
I am advised that Revenue is continuing this risk-focused programme of compliance interventions. Over 7,700 registered employers have been subject to a compliance check to date of which 3,013 have been the subject of recoupment of some or all of their subsidies totalling €68.6m.
In late Q2 of this year, Revenue invited some 42,500 employers 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 is available on the Revenue website. Any overclaims identified by employers by 30th September 2022 will be dealt with without the imposition of interest or penalties and declared liabilities and may be included in the Debt Warehouse by those employers who are eligible to participate in Revenue’s Debt Warehousing facility.
