The Finance Minister has tweaked the coronavirus wage subsidy to give lower earners more.
Anyone earning from the minimum wage up to €24,400 a year will now get 85% of their wages - up from 70% - subsidised by the government for the next three months.
The Minister for Finance has moved to close a loophole where low earners were making more if they quit work and went on the dole.
The enhanced dole for those put out of work by Covid-19 is worth €350 a week, while the wage subsidy max is €412.
The system was biased towards higher-paid staff because the subsidy was capped at 70% of wages, or €412.
But some lower-paid staff would not get €350 under the wage subsidy deal because this is more than 70% of their pay.
So they were better off going for the coronavirus unemployment benefit of €350 instead, without having to work.
This is not what the Government wants because they want employees to retain the link with their employers during the emergency.
This will make it easier to get back to work quicker when the lockdown ends and will help kickstart the economy.
Mr Donohoe said: “The Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme was designed and introduced with great speed.
“This was done to ensure the greatest number of employees maintained the link with their employer during this difficult time.
“It stood to reason that there were anomalies that needed to be ironed out to ensure greater fairness and implementation of the scheme.
“The whole world is facing a time of unprecedented difficulty.
“Here in Ireland we are working hard to ensure the impact and fallout from what is happening is minimised for our people to the greatest extent possible.
“Today’s measures serve to reinforce that message and to offer additional comfort to employers and employees in the period ahead.”
The Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme (TWSS) was introduced on the 26th of March to provide income support to eligible workers where the employer’s business activities were hit by the Coronavirus pandemic.
A spokesman for the Department of Finance provided details of how many have availed of the subsidy scheme so far.
He said: “The aim of the scheme is to maximise staff retention and firm viability by maintaining the link between the employer and employee. The rate is set with respect to previous average net wage levels.
“Many employers, over 43,000 as of today, have registered for the scheme and over 26,000 of these have already received a refund.
“Minister Donohoe has been advised by the Revenue Commissioners that over 219,000 employees have already received at least one payment under the scheme, and that approximately 84% of employees have also received a top-up payment from their employer.”
