Fianna Fáil TD for Cavan/Monaghan Niamh Smyth has criticised a new Restart Grant for businesses reopening after Covid-19 restrictions which was announced this week by her constituency rival Heather Humphreys of Fine Gael, the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation. The two TDs (who could be Cabinet colleagues if speculation about the make-up of a new Government involving FF and FG proves accurate) are at odds over the effectiveness of the new scheme.
Minister Humphreys said the grants available would make a big difference to eligible businesses, but Deputy Smyth has predicted that many new or small businesses will be excluded from benefiting because of the grant criteria. The FF representative called on Minister Humphreys to reexamine the scheme….