€7.4 billion Jobs Stimulus Details

As the Government today launched the €7.4 billion Jobs Stimulus to help businesses re-open, get people back to work and promote confidence, here’s just a few of the highlights and details

• A new Employment Wage Support Scheme will succeed the Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme, and run until April 2021. Employers, whose turnover has fallen 30%, will receive a flat rate subsidy of up to €203 per week per employee including for seasonal staff and new employees. New firms operating in impacted sectors will also be eligible. The Scheme is expected to support around 350,000 jobs into the beginning of 2021.

• Vat Rate to be cut from 23% to 21% - effective beginning September

• There will be a new income tax relief for self-employed individuals who were profitable in 2019 but, as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, incur losses in 2020.

• Subsidies of up to €7500 over two years will be available for employers to hire someone under the age of 30 who is on the Live Register or the Pandemic Unemployment Payment.

• The Apprentice Incentivisation Scheme will provide a €2000 payment to support employers to take on new apprenticeships in 2020.

• The Back to Work Enterprise Allowance and Back to Education Allowance will be extended to people currently in receipt of the Pandemic Unemployment Payment.

• The Restart Grant for Enterprises is being extended to a broader base of SMEs and expanded by €300 million. The payment level is being increased to €25,000. Further payments may be available to firms which have already received them. Some businesses, such as B&Bs, not previously included in the scheme, will now be eligible.

• A package of liquidity and enterprise investment measures worth €55 million will be put in place to support small and micro companies through additional resources for MicroFinance Ireland and the Local Enterprise Offices. This will include measures to reduce interest rates on lending for micro and small businesses, including grants equivalent to 0% interest on the first year of SBCI and MFI loans.

• Waiver of commercial rates - With limited exceptions, all businesses will be granted a waiver of commercial rates for the six months to end-September 2020, at a total cost of €600 million.

• Additional resources for MicroFinance Ireland and the Local Enterprise Offices -

A package of liquidity and enterprise investment measures worth €55 million will be put in place to support small and micro companies through additional resources for MicroFinance Ireland and the Local Enterprise Offices.

This will include measures to reduce interest rates on lending for micro and small businesses, including grants equivalent to 0% interest on the first year of SBCI and MFI loans.

• An increased allowable expenditure under the “Cycle to Work” scheme from €1000 to €1500 in respect of ‘ebikes’ and €1250 in respect of other bicycles will be introduced.

• 35,000 additional places in further and higher education. These will be delivered through a variety of measures including Skills to Compete Initiative (SOLAS), Skillnet, Springboard+ and the Human Capital Initiative, as well as through additional undergraduate and postgraduate provision in the Higher Educational Institutions.

• A Retrofit Skills Training Initiative will support future expansion of the National Retrofitting Programme.

• The Back to Work Enterprise Allowance and Back to Education Allowance will be extended to people currently in receipt of the Pandemic Unemployment Payment

• The Pandemic Unemployment Payment, due to end in August 2020, is being extended by 7 months until 1 April 2021, giving those on emergency income support greater security as the country recovers and job opportunities return. Between now and April, there will be a gradual reduction in payment level, linked to previous incomes, bringing payments in line with existing social welfare levels over time.

The scheme will close to new claimants from Thursday 17 September 2020.

Read the full details of the July Stimulus and get access to the full press release here;

https://www.gov.ie/en/campaigns/5654a-july-jobs-stimulus/