Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein)
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I take on board the Minister of State's point, and I do not think we are in major disagreement, but it would be very frustrating for companies that could do with a little more to see money going to data centres that are hugely profitable and do not provide many jobs. That will annoy people who are not making large profits but are providing jobs and doing all they can to keep body and soul together and protect jobs.

As for companies that are large energy consumers, their bills will obviously show they are paying more. However, these companies are not providing a large number of jobs. I understand their role in supporting other jobs but they are not job providers, nor are they trying to save jobs. There will be frustration and a certain amount of anger among members of the community who feel they are playing by the rules and do not benefit to the maximum amount. I accept the Minister of State's point in that regard and understand the need to reach as many people as possible.

Last week, my colleague, an Teachta Kerrane, raised the issue of the exclusion from the scheme of businesses that use oil for energy with the Minister for Finance, Deputy Donohoe, who responded:

We will in the time ahead look at the scheme and how it is operating and see if it is having the desired effect in supporting businesses and our economy. The scheme does not currently and cannot include oil, but we will look at the general level of support within our economy for businesses such as the one the Deputy has raised.

You would never be home for that answer. It was a little bit of this and a little bit of that, while not being very clear. Is there scope to revive this option? The cost of oil has gone up and in some instances, it costs more than electricity. This is putting businesses under huge pressure. I appreciate that the scheme includes a requirement to meter energy use and that is how the refunds operate. However, businesses that rely solely on oil are struggling too. As vague as the Minister's response was, it did indicate that there was scope to examine the businesses that do not come under the terms of this scheme. Does the Minister of State know how that monitoring is being done? Will he reach out specifically to companies that were excluded from the scheme to see if something can be done? Should they contact the Department directly or how will that work?