According to a statement published on Gov.ie, Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe has noted that the Employment Wage Subsidy Scheme (EWSS) has now ended for all businesses.
Details
A wage subsidy scheme, the EWSS or its predecessor, the Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme (TWSS), has been in place for since March of 2020, as noted by the statement published on Gov.ie, which also noted that the government set out a graduated exit strategy for the EWSS in Budget 2022.
Additionally, the statement published on Gov.ie noted that the total level of support provided to date by the wage subsidy schemes is at more than €10.66 billion - €2.8 billion in respect of TWSS and €7.86 billion in relation to EWSS - and that the TWSS supported 67,000 employers in respect of close to 690,000 employees and the EWSS supported 51,900 employers in respect of close to 744,000 employees.
Statement By Minister Donohoe
The statement published on Gov.ie included a statement by Minister Donohoe that said, "Today marks the end of the very successful Employment Wage Subsidy Scheme (EWSS), over two years after a wage subsidy scheme, the Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme (TWSS), was first introduced in March 2020. The wage subsidy schemes played a crucial role in preserving employment and incomes and supporting businesses at a very challenging time during the pandemic.
"The success of the schemes is clearly evident by the employments supported, as well as how quickly our economy adapted and recovered following the lifting of public health restrictions.
"I signalled the end of the EWSS many months ago to give businesses sufficient time to plan and adapt as necessary, and I expect that many businesses have seen a resumption in their levels of trade. To give further support and clarity, I also recently announced an extension to the 9% VAT rate for the tourism and hospitality industry for a further six months."
Additional Data
The above news followed news that the unadjusted Live Register total stood at 177,004 for April of this year, and that of the 263,770 individuals estimated to have been directly supported by the EWSS in March of this year 2022, 46.4% were male and 53.6% were female, according to a statement published on CSO.ie, which also noted that in March of 2022, 436,056 persons were on the Live Register or were benefitting from the Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP) or the EWSS, which was down from 907,800 in March of last year.
Additionally, news of the end of the EWSS was followed by news that the unadjusted Live Register total stood at 171,903 for May of this year, and that of the 264,242 individuals estimated to have been directly supported by the EWSS in April of this year, 46.2% were male and 53.8% were female, according to a separate subsequent statement published on CSO.ie, which also noted that in April of this year, 433,967 persons were on the Live Register or were benefitting from the PUP or the EWSS, which down from 845,268 in April of last year.
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