Cashel pub owner says Wage Subsidy Scheme is not a level playing field

Photo courtesy of Foley's Bar Facebook

Tipperary publicans are once again facing a bleak future with the move to Level 5 of Covid restrictions.

Seamus Foley of Foley’s Bar in Cashel says the measures included in the budget to support business owners don’t seem to have been properly thought through.

Speaking on Tipp Today earlier he outlined some anomalies.

“They don’t seem to be speaking to people on the ground that know what’s going on.”

“For example on the Wage Subsidy Scheme – I’m a sole trader and my fellow publican down the street decided to become a company to avail of tax credits and all that. Because he’s a company he can claim the Wage Subsidy Scheme for himself and his wife – they’re considered an employee of the business.”

“But where I’m a sole trader and myself and my wife run the business and when we open up again we can’t claim the Wage Subsidy Scheme.”