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THE GOVERNMENT SCHEME providing a cash sum to businesses forced to close due to Covid-19 restrictions has paid out €79.3 million to 13,800 premises so far.
Under the scheme, businesses can make a claim up to €5,000 a week from Revenue but just 3% of premises are receiving the maximum amount.
So far, 20% of the claimants have been from wet pubs, 12% from cafés or restaurants and 21% from personal services such as hairdressers and beauticians.
However, hairdressers and beauticians only account for 6% of the €79 million paid out so far compared to 12% for wet pubs.
The Covid Restrictions Support Scheme (CRSS) was announced by the government as part of Budget 2021 on 13 October.
It is a cashflow support scheme aimed at businesses that have had to close or restrict access to customers under enhanced restrictions. A week after the scheme was announced, Ireland was put under Level 5 of restrictions, forcing thousands of businesses to again shut their doors.
A business that had suffered an 80% decline in turnover – calculated with reference to its 2019 turnover – during the period of closure was eligible to apply.
Only businesses with an annual turnover of less than €2 million were eligible for the scheme, with eligible firms entitled to 10% on the first €1 million in turnover and 5% on anything above that to a maximum value of €5,000.
Once it has been paid out, the money can be used to pay rent and any other business-associated costs.
Upon its announcement, Tánaiste and Minister for Business Leo Varadkar said that qualification for the scheme is based on self-assessment but that “there will be audits”.
“It’s self-assessed, so we’re putting a lot of faith in business people to tell us the truth about their position. It’s self-assessed, but there will be audits obviously after the fact,” he said.
The move was welcomed from business groups such as the Vintners Federation of Ireland, whose members have been shut for large swathes of this year to date.
However, the scope of the scheme has also been criticised by the opposition.
Last month, Sinn Féin enterprise spokesperson Louise O’Reilly said that the “narrow nature” of the scheme meant suppliers, event management companies, taxi drivers and many others would “fall through the cracks with the scheme”.
“The Tánaiste has agreed to look at some of the individual cases I raised with him, but wider reform of the scheme is needed to immediately expand the CRSS to ensure it delivers for as many suffering businesses as possible,” she said.
According to Revenue, which administers the scheme, it said that “starting from 17 November, an eligible business if registered with Revenue for CRSS and who carries on a business activity from a premise located in a region that is subject to Covid-19 related restrictions, can make a claim for payment under the CRSS”.
By county, Dublin had the largest number of premises making claims under the scheme with 2,720 of the 13,800 to date. So far, €26 million has been given to businesses in Dublin under the CRSS.
Next was Cork with 1,710 claimants receiving €8.7 million so far with 950 businesses in Kerry receiving €5 million.
The average period they’ve been claiming the CRSS is six weeks, corresponding to the six weeks of Level 5 restrictions.
The majority of businesses (69%) are receiving an average weekly payment of €999 or less.
A further 14% are receiving between €1,000-€1,999.
Revenue also provided the average weekly payment by sector:
The average payment under the scheme is around €1,000.
On Thursday, the Tánaiste said that all businesses re-opening this week would receive an extra week of the CRSS to “help you get back on your feet”.
All businesses reopening this week will receive a bonus week of the CRSS payment to help you get back on your feet. Thank you for all the sacrifices you have made to keep us safe.
— Leo Varadkar (@LeoVaradkar) December 3, 2020
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Once the UK ban was lifted I headed on down to donate but was told my blood type was so rare (AB -) that they’ve enough in stock!
@mr magoo:
Fair play for making the effort.
@mr magoo: Good for you!
@mr magoo: enough in stock at that time. Doesnt stop you donating again. once you are registered you will get a text message to say how many days stock there is left for your blood group. Once you donate you also get a message to say where and when your blood was used.
@LittleBee: Yes, once when I donated I was talking to a man whose children were being looked after by the staff. He had rare blood. They rang him ahead of an urgent operation and he jokingly said “I’ll come straight in if ye mind the children for me.”
@mr magoo: there is a very small percentage of the population that are AB- therefore its is limited in how many people can use this blood type because it can only be used for AB- patients. However you should check if you are eligible to donate platelets as your blood group (AB-) is the ‘universal donor’ for platelets (which have different requirements than blood) and would always be in high demand. Well done for donating.
Had my first transfusion 4 Months ago! Disappointed to learn I’ll never be allowed to donate ever again!
@rosetheone: i had a heart op in 81. I had a transfusion and it breaks my heart i cant donate blood because of it
I have HH, donate now once a week to get it under control but gave been told due to some admin error/row/bunfight between ibts and hse that it ends up in the bin. It’s very disappointing to say the least
@Damian Rossiter: They will take it once you’re in the maintenance phase of treatment but not during the first few venesections while they are trying to get your iron levels down.
Great article, for me I have never given blood as had jaundice as an 8-9 year old. I never heard that the rules had changed. Delighted. Will be making an appointment tomorrow.
And, I quote, you cannot give blood in Ireland if: “you are female and have sex with a Male who ever had oral or anal sex with another man with or without a condom or other form of protection”……or “If you are Male and have ever had sex with another male, even ‘safer sex’ using a condom or pre-exposure prophylaxis “.
Homophobic, much? Presumptive, much? Discriminatory, 100%. What about women who have had anal sex? Let’s face it, it’s pretty common. Can they just rock up.and donate blood no questions asked?
@Gillian Fallon: That’s because of AIDS. I once worked with a married couple from South Africa and they couldn’t donate blood here either. They offered, but the staff explained that they wouldn’t be eligible to give.
@Fiona Fitzgerald: I know why it’s the case but is it evidence based and why aren’t women included? I would imagine there are far more straight women that gay men in this scenario affected.
@Gillian Fallon: As far as I know, it is evidence-based. But they don’t exclude straight women. Or gay women. (Unless, say, it was a straight woman married to a bisexual or gay man.) It would be fine to donate otherwise.
@Fiona Fitzgerald: It’s no longer evidence based due to better windows for being able to screen for HIV in individuals. Ireland recently changed their policy to a 12 month deferral period for sexual contact with a MSM partner and this is still a very conservative measure compared to the deferral windows for other countries.
Also, while people can take PREP to prevent being able to get infected with HIV, there’s no provision yet for these individuals to be able to donate blood unless they again meet the 12 month deferral window. Hopefully this can change over time but the IBTS tend to be pretty conservative and slow compared to many other countries.
@Fiona Fitzgerald: it’s about HIV which is different from aids. HIV is a virus which is transmitted. AIDS is a syndrome that develops when HIV goes untreated. You cannot catch AIDS.
The ban is not just against gay and bisexual men but also any man who has ever had oral or anal sex with another man (and there are a lot of straight men out there who have) but also women who have ever had sex with a man who has had sec with a man. The difference is that it is men who are targeted.
One of the key issues is that men who are in monogamous relationships and who know their status are not allowed donate blood which is problematic. The entire screening process is based in trust and that the person answers the questions honestly. There is no reason to bar monogamous gay or bisexual men from donating blood. But the current deferral mandates celibacy for 12 months which is ridiculous.
@Gillian Fallon: it’s called being cautious.
@Gillian Fallon: I used to donate Palettes which were used to assist very sick people, but unfortunately , after a year or more , I was informed that they cannot take palettes from married women. When I did donate, I was told that my palettes were excellent and sometimes I gave two batches in one session.
Did not know the English thing was lifted. I’m going to give blood now. It’s something everyone should do. It’s been so long for me that I got a glass of Guinness the last time I donated.
I was given 4 bags a couple of years ago – does this mean I can’t donate myself?
@The only INFP in Ireland: I believe you can’t but ring them, they are the most helpful service you can deal with.
@The only INFP in Ireland: that is correct. If you have ever received a Transfusion at any stage you cannot donate blood. The reason behind this is because you received blood from another donor which is very safe to use but still is never a 100% match for your blood (obviously because its from another person) so your immune system may have reacted to this blood by making antibodies. If you were to donate and these antibodies passed to another it could cause harm. As they are your antibodies (made by your immune system) they wont cause you any harm.
I gave blood many moons ago but since then got diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes. I am sure i checked before and I can’t donate but can anyone confirm?
Sponsored by the Vampire Society of Ireland!
I notice they avoided the issue of not accepting gay blood – probably because it’s an indefensible stance?
At least they’ve finally decided that getting my english blood isn’t as bad as dying in need of a transfusion
I’ve lived in the US south east for the last 8 years and I’ve been to 2 tropical countries in the Americas in the last 6 months.
I know I cannot give blood due to West Nile, Zika and other viruses common in this area for time but not sure how long.
How long (if ever) can I give blood in Ireland?
@David Guiney: It used to be six months, but seriously, ask them because you might be eligible again now, and they can always do with new donors.
Here’s a link to the quick quiz if anyone is wondering if they might be able to donate:
https://www.giveblood.ie/can-i-give-blood/blood-eligibility-quiz/
Made my first donation when I turned 18 that’s when the Guinness and Harp was flowing.
Please get someone to edit the numbered list so that people can share the article.
On the app, a lot of the content is duplicated after #4.
I notice they avoided the issue of not accepting gay blood – probably because it’s an indefensible stance?
I notice they avoided the issue of not accepting gay blood – probably because it’s an indefensible stance?
I notice they avoided the issue of not accepting gay blood – probably because it’s an indefensible stance?
At least they’ve finally decided that getting my proddy blood isn’t as bad as dying in need of a transfusion
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