Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I accept those businesses, and so many others across the country, as well as households, are finding the bills that are coming are absolutely critical and critical to their operations. Government will engage in this six-month period ahead to look to providing further supports targeted at small or medium businesses because those businesses may not have the ability to pass on the costs. They are the ones that are richest in employment and we do not want to see them fall to this crisis which is not of their making, or the doing of anyone else in this country, but is a function of energy being used as a weapon of war. We must help protect our businesses in that regard. As I said in reply to various questions earlier, we are working with Government colleagues to consider what sorts of supports might be possible.

It will not cushion the full blow, there are no two ways about that, but we have to try to help provide as much protection as we can, which is what we will do.

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