Mr. Gerard Brady:

On TBESS, the three major points have come back. One may relate to the butcher example the Deputy used. People who pay their energy bills through their rent are not qualifying. These are situations where the landlord pays the bill and the enterprises concerned then pay the required amount for those energy costs as part of their rent payment. We have heard this point from lots of companies, particularly SMEs, that do not qualify for this very reason. The other major point raised is the reference period set for the scheme. This was fixed at a time when gas prices had already spiked. By its nature, therefore, many people do not qualify for the scheme in this context. We also have many companies that do not pay their bills monthly. They paid them instead quarterly or bimonthly. These payments will probably come through at some point. Regarding the last issue on LPG and oil use, this is probably a particular concern in the west and north west because of the way the gas infrastructure on the island is laid out. There is no gas network in this region, and this means those businesses reliant on other fuels do not necessarily qualify for this scheme.