This is an update from our statement of Friday 19 March.
As the spread of Covid-19 continues, the following information explains how Engineers Ireland is providing service continuity to you our members, and also provides an information-share on the Government’s business supports, and other detail to assist you in your business.
Please be assured - we are open for business. While the way we work has changed, our commitment to quality delivery and shared cooperation has not. We look forward to working together with you and your colleagues to get through this period as smoothly as possible.
Business continuity
We are fully available to our members and are contactable by phone, video conference, email, social media; please do reach out to discuss work, or any other issues you wish to talk through.
Contact phone numbers for our key departments are available on our website here.
If your business has been impacted by this crisis, our information base, provides links to the financial supports from Government. (To make things easier, further down this page we provide an at-a-glance summary of the main supports).
CPD and CPD Free supports
In relation to our CPD training we are seeking to provide online options for training where possible. Please contact cpdtraining@engineersireland.ie if you have any queries.
Our CPD re-accreditation audits are continuing virtually.
We would like to remind members of our complimentary online modules and CPD courses available (member-content only): here. Areas covered include; Finance for Engineers, Communication and Presentation Skills, Introduction to Project Management, Negotiation and Influencing Skills.
Membership
Our Membership Team is available to any engineer wishing to become a member. Please email joining@engineersireland.ie for any new member query or a reinstatement query. For existing members who are interested in our Professional Titles such as Chartered Engineer or have any other query, please contact membership@engineerireland.ie. The telephone number for Membership is 01 6651334.
Three podcasts to support you in becoming a Chartered Engineer are available here.
Our Chartered interviewer process is continuing remotely.
Our Sectors
In relation to events/meetings organised by our Regional branches, Engineering divisions or Societies (i.e. Sectors), please check with your Committee Chair to determine if your meeting is going ahead. We are in the process of rolling out virtual meeting supports for our sectors. Please continue to contact our Sector Support Team on any matter on sectorsupport@engineersireland.ie
Your viewing of Engineers TV, which contains presentations, technical lectures, courses and seminar recordings can be counted as part of your overall CPD for the year and is available here.
Subscriptions
You can pay your annual subscription online on your member profile here or call our Finance hotline on 01 6651320.
Information Share – we hope you find the below external information useful
Relevant to our ROI members. Please note you will be directed to external websites.
Government’s Supports at-a-glance for employers
Wage Subsidy Scheme
A new temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme to retain employees and to re-employ employees in cases where they have recently been laid off due to the COVID-19 pandemic is available from Government. It supports employers who keep employees on the payroll through the current Covid-related trading difficulties, meaning employers can retain links with employees for when business picks up. Under the terms of the Scheme, employers will be refunded up to 70 percent of an employee's wages - up to a level of €410.
There is more information here: Temporary COVID-19 Wage Subsidy Scheme
Employers have to sign up to the Scheme through Revenue. If you are self-employed, you can apply for the COVID-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment.
Short Time Work Support for your staff
If you have to put your employees on a shorter working week, or have had to cut their hours because of the Covid-19 pandemic, your employees can apply for Short Time Work Support. Put simply, it is a form of Jobseeker’s Benefit and is an income support payment if your employee has to be temporarily placed on a shorter working week.
Other financial supports for your staff
The Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection has other supports for your staff during a Covid-19 related absence or temporary layoff from work. These include income supports for workers who are not diagnosed with Covid-19 who self-isolate, or who need to take time off to care for a person affected by Covid-19. That information is here.
Business Continuity Voucher
A new Business Continuity Voucher is now available throughout Ireland’s Local Enterprise Offices and is open to sole traders and companies across every business sector that employ up to 50 people. The voucher is worth up to €2,500 in third party consultancy costs and can be used by companies and sole traders to develop short-term and long-term strategies to respond to the Covid-19 pandemic. The goal is to help business owners make informed decisions about what immediate measures and actions should be taken to protect staff and sales. See here for more information.
Mortgage breaks and repossession deferrals
The heads of the State’s five banks have agreed to defer legal proceedings and repossessions against borrowers in default and extend payment holidays to homeowners and businesses. These concessions will last for up to three months and will be subject to ongoing reviews. Please see this statement on the Irish Banking and Payments Federation Website here.
The Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation have put a range of business supports in place including:
A €200m Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland (SBCI) Working Capital scheme for eligible businesses impacted by COVID-19. Loans of up to €1.5m will be available at reduced rates, with up to the first €500,000 unsecured. Applications can be made through the SBCI website.
A €200m Package for Enterprise Supports including a Rescue and Restructuring Scheme available through Enterprise Ireland for vulnerable but viable firms that need to restructure or transform their business.
The maximum loan available from MicroFinance Ireland will be increased from €25,000 to €50,000 as an immediate measure to specifically deal with exceptional circumstances that micro-enterprises – (sole traders and firms with up to 9 employees) - are facing. Applications can be made through the MFI website or through your local LEO.
The Credit Guarantee Scheme will be available to COVID-19 impacted firms through the Pillar Banks. Loans of up to €1m will be available at terms of up to 7 years. Read about this information directly at the Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation’s website here:
Government’s Supports at-a-glance for employees & self-employed
The Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection has a number of specific welfare supports at this time, including:
COVID-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment
This payment is available to employees and self-employed people who have lost their job on or after March 13 due the Covid-19 pandemic. This COVID-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment will be in place for the duration of the crisis. The Payment is paid at a flat rate of €350 per week for the duration of the pandemic emergency. It was originally set at a rate of €203 but it was increased to €350 by Government on 24 March. See here for more detail.
If you have been temporarily placed on a shorter working week, you may qualify for Short Time Work Support.
COVID-19 Enhanced illness Benefit
If you have been diagnosed with Covid-19 or are medically certified to self-isolate as a result of Covid-19, you can apply for the Covid-19 Enhanced Illness Benefit. This is higher than the standard rate. You can apply for this whether you are an employee or if you are self-employed. See here. There are other income supports available from the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection and they are available here.
Our Engineers Ireland information base has more useful links. For information about protecting yourself from Covid-19 please see the HSE’s website here for symptoms and causes, testing, self-isolation and movement restriction.
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