More Irish Businesses To Benefit From Crisis Subsidies

by Jason Gorringe, Tax-News.com, London

11 November 2009

Irish Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Mary Coughlan, on November 10 announced that to date 7,478 jobs are to receive direct support under the first round of the Employment Subsidy Scheme.

This week, beginning November 9, 453 employers are to be informed of their successful application under the scheme, which provides a subsidy of EUR9,100 over 15 months per qualifying employee in vulnerable but viable firms.

According to statistics provided by the government, the scheme has so far saved 35,283 jobs. A further number of applications are in the final stages of assessment and will be concluded in the near future.

Applicant enterprises qualifying under the scheme were those judged vulnerable in the current economic climate but viable in the medium- to long-term, with such analysis being coordinated by Enterprise Ireland. The scheme was introduced, in the context of rising unemployment, to assist in the retention of jobs and to help retain the economy’s skills base.

Coughlan said: “The Employment Subsidy Scheme is designed to support the maintenance of vulnerable jobs and prevent people from being made redundant. Each of the companies who will receive support under the Employment Subsidy Scheme have committed to retaining an agreed level of employees until December 2010. In this difficult economic environment the Employment Subsidy Scheme is enabling the State to protect vulnerable employment, which may otherwise have been lost without this subsidy.”

Coughlan said that applications under the Scheme had been fewer than anticipated and she confirmed that, as a result, she now intended to proceed with a second round with broader criteria.

“Details of a second broader call for applications with extended eligibility criteria open to both exporting and non-exporting firms will be announced next week. This Second Call takes into account some of the issues raised by businesses and representative bodies concerning the original call. The Second Call will therefore be open to many companies that were not eligible to apply for the First Call. This Second Call will be limited to value of the First Call and will once again be managed by Enterprise Ireland.”

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