The changes announced yesterday apply to workers earning less than €500 per week (equivalent to €31,000) as well as those earning in excess of €586 per week (equivalent to €38,000).

Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe said the scheme was “designed and introduced with great speed”, leading to “anomalies that needed to be ironed out to ensure greater fairness and implementation of the scheme”.

The changes will apply for payroll with a pay date on or after 4 May 2020 and received by the Revenue Commissioners on or after that date. No back-dating of increased subsidy will apply.

Under the amended scheme, more employees will now receive a subsidy of €350 per week, and those with previous net pay below €412 per week will now receive a greater level of subsidy.

A tiered approach will apply for employees with previous net pay in excess of €586 per week (equivalent to €38,000) to ensure that no employee would be better off under the scheme.

The wage subsidy is now also available to support employees where their average net salary before the pandemic was greater than €76,000, and their gross salary has since fallen below €76,000.

Mr Donohoe said: “The whole world is facing a time of unprecedented difficulty. Here in Ireland we are working hard to ensure the impact and fallout from what is happening is minimised for our people to the greatest extent possible.

“Today’s measures serve to reinforce that message and to offer additional comfort to employer and employees in the period ahead.”