Good news for Irish van drivers this week, with the launch of a scheme that we very much hope to see cross the Irish Channel and trickle into the British system.
If you are fortunate enough to be living and working in Ireland, you will no doubt have heard about the new grant scheme that has been launched to support tradespeople in this post-COVID economy.
Yes, over the water, they have launched a new Enterprise Support Grant, which offers tradespeople a grant of us to €1000 per sole trader who do not qualify for other government support.
Welcomed by tradespeople over, there, the grant is helping take the strain off the nation’s sparkies, plumbers, builders and carpenters who are able to claim the grant to help make their life a little easier in this post-COVD economy.
What is really great about the grant is that not only can it be used for stocking up on tools and equipment, but the money can also be put towards vehicle running costs, including fuel, servicing, and van insurance too.
As we all know, insuring a van is not cheap. For many tradespeople, it represents a large chunk of expense towards doing and running their business. And while here at CVI, we do our very best to ensure that all van drivers get the best possible deal on their van insurance, irrespective of age, gender or trade, we know that since the economy ground to a halt earlier this year, getting back up and running has been a massive struggle for many.
We very much welcome this news and hope that our own Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, sees this initiative and takes inspiration from it, and offers a similar scheme to the van drivers of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
After all, with the government desperate to get us all back to work, we can only hope that they don’t forget the role of the British van drivers play in the economy and that they do their bit for those who may have missed out from other initiatives, such as the furlough scheme or self-employment grants.
Here’s looking at you, Rishi.