Grants scheme for small businesses wholly inadequate – Doherty

The Sinn Féin spokesperson on Finance has said that the grants scheme for small businesses announced by the Minister for Finance is ‘wholly inadequate’.
Deputy Pearse Doherty said that the average grant payable to firms could be less than €900 with 280,000 micro and small business operating in the State.
Deputy Doherty made comparison to grants of £25,000 being paid in the north, for those in the worst impacted sectors such as tourism, hospitality, retail and leisure.
He added that the announcement fails to recognise that many micro-enterprises here have no rates base; with many operated from homes, non-rateable premises or online.