Revenue Commissioners Direct Employers to Repay €301.5 Million in Covid Wage Subsidies

The Revenue Commissioners have directed employers to repay €301.5 million in Covid-era wage subsidies following audit and compliance inspections. This recovery ensures employers met eligibility criteria and used funds appropriately from the €10.7 billion disbursed by the government during the pandemic, which began in early 2020.

Of the recovered amount, almost €257.5 million came from the Employment Wage Subsidy Scheme (EWSS), introduced in August 2020. The EWSS cost €7.8 billion, including €6.8 billion in pay subsidies and €1 billion in PRSI credits, benefiting 51,000 employers and over 750,000 workers.

An additional €44 million was recovered from the Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme (TWSS), which ran from March 2020 to August 2020. This scheme paid approximately €2.8 billion to 67,000 employers for 690,000 workers. The €44 million from TWSS audit work is separate from another €308 million collected via a reconciliation exercise. Revenue continues to examine certain entities as part of ongoing compliance activity but is not undertaking large-scale investigations into either scheme at present.