Ruairi Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

We could be facing economic carnage. We have all heard from the owners of small businesses and industries. We need to deal with the cost of energy at both a domestic and international level, where we can do so, but we will also have to look at grant schemes. I refer to Suretank in Dunleer and Castlebellingham. To lay it out cleanly, the company is looking at its cost of €15,000 per month for electricity going to €50,500, and gas going from €3,200 per month to €18,000 per month. It is saying this will mean all its profits are gone and it will be out of action in a number of months. Anglo Printers in Drogheda is looking at its electricity bill going from €160,000 per year to half a million euro, which is an approximate cost of €10,000 per worker. As I said, it is absolute carnage. We need to act as quickly as possible, as was done during the Covid period to keep the ship afloat. I accept this is an issue that is happening across Europe, but we need to deal with it domestically and internationally. We have no choice.

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