EU approves Ireland’s €60m small business Covid relief scheme

The EU has approved the Government’s small business Covid-19 support scheme.The scheme offers up to €8000 in grants to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) between January and June this year.The European Commission said on Tuesday the scheme is “necessary, appropriate and proportionate to remedy a serious disturbance in the economy” .It was launched on 11 March as the ‘Small Business Assistance Scheme for Covid’ (SBASC) – for companies with fewer than 250 employees and at least €50,000 annual turnover.It is open to companies in all sectors except banking, agriculture and fisheries, as long as they are not receiving other grants under the Covid Restrictions Support Scheme (CRSS) or Fáilte Ireland supports.Neil McDonnell, chief executive of the Irish SME Association, said the scheme “plugs a lot of the gaps that were left in the CRSS scheme”.The European Commission said on Tuesday that that the Irish scheme is in line with its temporary state aid rules, which allow for maximum payments of €1.8m per company, as long as they are granted by December 31 this year.Under the Irish scheme, eligible businesses will receive a payment of €4000 for the first quarter of 2021 and a second payment of €4000 on the second quarter if they continue to meet the criteria.The total envelope of the scheme is €60m.Tánaiste Leo Varadkar, said the money could help around 7,500 mainly small businesses with fixed costs like rent, insurance, utilities and security.