Over 7,000 jobs are to receive direct financial support under the first round of the Employment Subsidy Scheme, the Tánaiste Mary Coughlan announced this morning.
The Tánaiste said that 453 employers are to be informed this week of their successful application to the scheme, which will provide a subsidy of €9,100 over fifteen months to safeguard individual jobs.
The payment rate begins at €200 a month for the first 26 weeks, but falls to €50 by the scheme’s end.
A total of 7,478 positions will receive support under the first round of funding with more applications to be considered at a later date.
Ms Coughlan announced this morning that the scheme is to be extended to non-exporting companies next week, a move that has been broadly welcomed.
As a result of the €250 million scheme, which was announced back in August, companies have committed to retaining 35,283 jobs that would have otherwise been lost.
It is hoped that 27,400 vulnerable jobs will be safeguarded during the lifetime of the scheme.
Companies seeking the subsidy must be judged as vulnerable in the current economic climate but viable in the medium to long term. Enterprise Ireland is in charge of assessing firms as to their eligibility for the scheme with particular consideration shown to enterprises in manufacturing and/or internationally-traded services.
Under State Aid rules the maximum subsidy payable to any one firm or group of related companies, for the duration of the scheme is €500,000.
“The Employment Subsidy Scheme is designed to support the maintenance of vulnerable jobs and prevent people from being made redundant. Each of the companies who will receive support under the Employment Subsidy Scheme have committed to retaining an agreed level of employees until December 2010,” said Ms Coughlan.
“In this difficult economic environment the Employment Subsidy Scheme is enabling the State to protect vulnerable employment, which may otherwise have been lost without this subsidy,” she added.
Chambers Ireland welcomed the announcement that the scheme will be extended to non-exporting companies.
"The economic downturn and the banking crisis demand different strategies to be employed to sustain our economy," said deputy chief executive Seán Murphy. "The extension of this scheme is but one measure needed to deal with the recession and retain more jobs."
The move was also supported by employers' group Ibec which also called for it to be broadened out to include companies that already availed of short-time working; the sub-supply sector; firmsengaged in seasonal production processes and those impacted by import substitution.
"The first round of the scheme was far too restrictive and the
application process and selection criteria were overly complex. A broader and more straightforward scheme could greatly help reduce the number of job losses," said Ibec senior economist Fergal O'Brien.
Further details on the scheme can be found at www.employmentsubsidy.ie
