The Emergency Measures in the Public Interest (COVID-19) Act 2020 (
Act No. 2 of 2020; previously the Health (Preservation and Protection and other Emergency Measures in the Public Interest) Bill 2020,
Bill
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* Banknote, paper cash (especially in the United States)
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Plac ...
No. 4 of 2020) was an
Act of the Oireachtas
The law of Ireland consists of constitutional, statute, and common law. The highest law in the State is the Constitution of Ireland, from which all other law derives its authority. The Republic has a common-law legal system with a written const ...
(Irish parliament) which provided for additional powers for the state in the extraordinary circumstances of the
spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Owing to
social distancing
In public health, social distancing, also called physical distancing, (NB. Regula Venske is president of the PEN Centre Germany.) is a set of non-pharmaceutical interventions or measures intended to prevent the spread of a contagious dis ...
measures required to combat the virus, and at the written request of
Ceann Comhairle Seán Ó Fearghaíl
Seán Ó Fearghaíl (; born 17 April 1960) is an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who has served as the Ceann Comhairle of Dáil Éireann since March 2016. He has been a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Kildare South constituency since 2002. He was a S ...
, the
Dáil sitting to discuss the legislation on 26 March was "considerably reduced" in numbers and, after an amendment intended to guarantee against evictions, the bill passed without a vote. The bill then passed without a vote the following day (27 March) through all stages in
Seanad Éireann
Seanad Éireann (, ; "Senate of Ireland") is the upper house of the Oireachtas (the Irish legislature), which also comprises the President of Ireland and Dáil Éireann (the lower house).
It is commonly called the Seanad or Senate and its memb ...
(in its final sitting before the count of
the Seanad election which followed the
2020 general election).
President
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Michael D. Higgins
Michael Daniel Higgins ( ga, Mícheál Dónal Ó hUigínn; born 18 April 1941) is an Irish politician, poet, sociologist, and broadcaster, who has served as the ninth president of Ireland since November 2011. Entering national politics throug ...
signed the bill into law the same day.
Amongst other things, the Emergency Measures in the Public Interest (COVID-19) Act 2020 introduced the Temporary COVID-19 Wage Subsidy Scheme.
[
This followed the passing of the Health (Preservation and Protection and other Emergency Measures in the Public Interest) Act 2020 the previous week.
]
Temporary COVID-19 Wage Subsidy Scheme
The Temporary COVID-19 Wage Subsidy Scheme provided for employers and employees of Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
in the extraordinary circumstances of the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. The scheme allowed employers to maintain responsibility for paying employees during the pandemic, with the intention of maintaining the employer-employee relationship and ensuring that employees continued to be registered with their employers, so that they would be able to get back to work quickly after the pandemic.
The scheme was announced on 24 March for a twelve-week run beginning on 26 March, and replaced an earlier COVID-19 Employer Refund Scheme.
By early April, the Central Statistics Office (CSO) announced that a figure equivalent to more than one tenth of the country's population were unemployed, with nearly 5% of that figure on the Temporary COVID-19 Wage Subsidy Scheme. A spokesman for Goodbody Stockbrokers
Goodbody Stockbrokers is Ireland's longest established stockbroking firm with roots dating back to 1877. As well as being one of the leading institutional brokers, it is one of the largest private client firms in Ireland. It is a member firm of ...
described it as "unprecedented". By the following week, the numbers receiving income supports had increased by 40% from the previous week's total, though the closing of thousands of applications for the COVID-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment
The COVID-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment (referred to as the PUP) was a government emergency aid program in the Republic of Ireland that provided monetary relief to those who face unemployment due to the COVID-19 pandemic, whether formerly emp ...
meant it was "presumed" their employers had rehired them through the Temporary COVID-19 Wage Subsidy Scheme. By mid-May, a figure equivalent to nearly one tenth of the country's population were on the Temporary COVID-19 Wage Subsidy Scheme alone.
On 6 May, Minister for Finance
A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation.
A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", ...
Paschal Donohoe
Paschal Donohoe (born 19 September 1974) is an Irish Fine Gael politician who has served as Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform since December 2022 and President of the Eurogroup since July 2020. He has been a Teachta Dála (TD) for the ...
told ''Morning Ireland
''Morning Ireland'' is the breakfast news programme broadcast by RTÉ Radio 1 in Ireland and is noted as that country's most listened to radio programme. It is broadcast each weekday morning between 07.00 and 09.00 and alternate items are normall ...
'' that the scheme would continue "in some form" past its original intended date of ending.
On 15 April, Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe announced changes to the scheme such that the State would pay more money to workers.
On 19 May, Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe said a decision would be made "soon" regarding an extension of the scheme. On 5 June, Minister for Finance Paschal Donohue announced that the scheme would be extended until the end of August.
Even a State-owned company, RTÉ
(RTÉ) (; Irish language, Irish for "Radio & Television of Ireland") is the Public broadcaster, national broadcaster of Republic of Ireland, Ireland headquartered in Dublin. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on RTÉ Television, telev ...
, sought to participate in the scheme.
Women returning from giving birth were excluded from the scheme; they were advised to apply for social welfare instead.
On 23 July, as part of the July Jobs Stimulus package announced by the Government, the scheme would be replaced by the Employment Wage Support Scheme from September 2020 and would run until April 2021.
Employment Wage Subsidy Scheme
The Employment Wage Subsidy Scheme provided a flat-rate subsidy to qualifying employers whose turnover had fallen 30% based on the numbers of eligible employees on the employer's payroll, including seasonal staff and new employees.
The scheme was announced on 23 July as part of the July Jobs Stimulus package launched by the Government for a seven-month run beginning on 1 September, and replaced the Temporary COVID-19 Wage Subsidy Scheme.
See also
* List of COVID-19 pandemic legislation
References
Sources
*
*
Citations
{{COVID-19 pandemic in the Republic of Ireland
2020 in Irish law
Acts of the Oireachtas of the 2020s
Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in the Republic of Ireland
Law associated with the COVID-19 pandemic