Electric.ie Jan/Feb 2021

ELECTRIC.IE • The Magazine & Website for the Irish Electrical Industry • 43 Industry News Construction work to close as people are urged to stay at hom e ‒ 6th January - The Government has today agreed that additional public health restrictions will apply under Level 5 of the Plan for Living with COVID. N oting the advice from NPHET that the current situation with the virus has deteriorated to the point where there is an absolute need to reduce the level of mobility and congregation in order to reduce all opportunities for transmission, people continue to be urged to stay at home except for absolutely essential reasons. The following measures have been put in place in regard to construction to support this: • Construction will close from 6pm Friday 8th January, with limited exceptions including: • Essential health and related projects including those relevant to preventing, limiting, minimising or slowing the spread of Covid-19. • Social housing projects, including voids, designated as essential sites by Local Authorities based on set criteria. • Housing adaptation grants where the homeowner is agreeable to adaptions being undertaken in their home. • Repair, maintenance and construction of critical transport and utility infrastructure. • Education facilities sites designated as essential by Department of Education. • Supply and delivery of essential or emergency maintenance and repair services to businesses and places of residence (including electrical, gas, plumbing, glazing and roofing services) on an emergency call-out basis. • Certain large construction projects in the exporting / FDI sector based on set criteria. Supports EWSS: Employment Wage Subsidy Scheme Under the EWSS scheme, employers in sectors impacted by COVID-19 whose turnover has fallen 30% get a flat-rate subsidy per week based on the number of qualifying employees on the payroll. If an employee has more than one job, each employer can make a claim under the EWSS, ignoring any other employments the employee may have. PUP COVID-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP) is a social welfare payment for employees and self-employed people who have lost all their employment due to the COVID-19 public health emergency. The COVID-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment will remain open to new applicants and continue to be paid until 31st March 2021. Additional Supports The Government continues to make available a wide range of supports for businesses including the COVID Restrictions Support Scheme, a commercial rates waiver, a wide range of reduced cost loans, grants and voucher schemes, such as the €2 billion COVID-19 Credit Guarantee Scheme, COVID-19 Business Loans from Microfinance Ireland. www.revenue.ie