More than 6,000 firms register for Covid support payment

Covid Restrictions Support Scheme offers a maximum weekly payment of €5,000 to viable businesses closed due to pandemic

Tánaiste Leo Varadkar outlined the details of the Covid Restrictions Support Scheme in the budget.

More than 6,000 businesses have signed up for emergency funding from the Covid Restrictions Support Scheme (CRSS) since its launch earlier this month.

A total of 6,100 companies have registered 6,400 premises for the scheme, according to the Department of Finance, with Revenue currently processing a further 1,800 applications.

A key element of last month’s budget package, the CRSS offers a maximum weekly payment of €5,000 to viable businesses whose premises have been temporarily closed due to Covid-19 restrictions. Upon its official launch on November 6, more than 3,850 businesses had applied.

CRSS payments are due to be made by the end of next week. Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe said they will be back-dated to October 13 — the day of the budget — to cover businesses who were eligible for the scheme at the time of its announcement.

The total amount paid out via wage subsidies since the start of the Covid-19 crisis now stands at €3.5bn.

The Department said that 35,400 employers received the Employment Wage Subsidy Scheme (EWSS) last month in respect of 345,400 employees, covering a total combined payment of €358m.

To date in November, nearly €80m has been paid out through the EWSS.