Retailer Ordered To Repay €8.87m In Covid Subsidy Payments

The retailer received the €8.872m across 10 months from September 2020 to June 2021, an average of €887,281 a month. Revenue issued its assessment in 2024 after finding the company had not demonstrated the required 30% fall in turnover to qualify for the scheme, which supported businesses hit by Covid-19 between September 2020 and April 2022.

How the Covid subsidy appeal was decided

After evidence and submissions over eight days across 2025 and this year, Commissioner Simon Noone ruled in Revenue’s favour. The retailer had argued that one non-essential division, forced to close during lockdowns, saw revenues fall by 30% from September to December 2020 and by 45% from January to June 2021.

The company also warned that, without the scheme, staff redundancies would have been a strong possibility. For more Irish business and consumer stories, see the latest Irish news. The ruling was reported by RTÉ.