Varadkar pledges to help firms locked out of Covid-19 supports

State also plans to provide new supports for businesses not covered by existing schemes

The government’s efforts to ramp up support for hard-pressed business owners comes as the Central Bank of Ireland warned of an impending wave of insolvencies later this year.

The government will expand business support schemes into the second quarter of the year and develop new initiatives for firms locked out of existing supports, Leo Varadkar has said.

The move comes as the country’s financial regulator has warned of a slew of delayed business failures later this year. The government is also coming under increasing pressure to expand the Covid restrictions support scheme (CRSS) to firms shut by the pandemic but ineligible under current ...