Last evening Minister Eamon Ryan wrote to the Advisory Committee on SPSVs (the ‘Committee’) advising of changes to the horizontal supports available to the SPSV industry. In his correspondence Minister Ryan confirmed that following his recent engagement with both the Committee and NTA, he and the Department of Transport have been reflecting on possible additional, targeted, assistance for the SPSV industry.
Accordingly, Minister Ryan advises of the following measures:
– SPSV vehicle licence renewal fees will be waived for 2022;
– €1.5m will be allocated to fund initial NCT fees for SPSV operators for a 12 month period (further information on how this will be implemented will be provided by NTA in due course);
– Funding of €2 million will be allocated to facilitate the rebate of Motor Tax to SPSV operators over a 12 month period (further information on how this will be implemented will be provided by NTA in due course);
– Extension of the Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP) to February 2022 (however the scheme will close to new entrants from 1 July 2021. Recipients of the PUP remain entitled to earn up to €960 over an eight-week period, net of expenses;
-The Enterprise Support Grant (ESG) will continue to be available to self-employed SPSV operators who close their PUP payments. Additionally claimants of the ESG in 2020 who subsequently found themselves back on the PUP will be able to access the grant for a second time if they close their PUP on or after 1 June 2021.
To view the related Department of Transport press release, please click here.
NTA is currently preparing a public consultation to give effect to the abovementioned waiver of standard SPSV vehicle licence renewal fees for 2022 with the relevant papers expected to go before the NTA Board next week.
Separately NTA is also seeking to advance a public consultation on extending the period of time that SPSV licences may rest in ‘inactive status’ after expiry prior to losing the capacity to be reactivated.