Joe Flaherty (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I commend the Taoiseach and the Minister of State, Deputy Byrne, on their work in Europe. I want to especially welcome confirmation on the Commission’s agreement on energy regulation to address high gas prices and security of supply. It is unquestionable that the biggest issue facing businesses, small and large, in the country at the moment is rising energy costs as we face into the winter. Obviously, the introduction of the temporary business energy support scheme, TBESS, in budget 2023 has been welcome. However, there is still a genuine fear and a concern that it will not be enough. Indeed, I have to echo the comments of my colleague Deputy Berry that we seem to be focused on just containing the price of energy, when the focus needs to be on driving it down.

As I came into the Chamber today, I was contacted by Roy Davis, who runs the very popular SuperValu store in Longford town. It is a run by a family who have continually invested in keeping their business modern and efficient. As a result, their energy bills have been, in the main, manageable heretofore. However, sadly, this is no longer the case. Their energy bill has gone from €10,000 per month to €32,000 per month in the past year – an increase of 220%. Even when we take into account the TBESS, their bills will still be €14,000 per month higher than they were last year. It is an incredible additional cost to have to carry. The rain comes down upon us here in the Chamber, but we will persevere. This is just one example of the many businesses struggling. More needs to be done for them.

I also welcome the announcement by the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, that a fleet of turbines will be bought to bolster the country's electricity supply and stave off outages. They will account for €350 million worth of the Government’s emergency power generation capacity. These mobile turbines are similar to what are deployed in countries in the wake of natural disasters, etc., where power plants have been destroyed. Some 24 are to be bought and will be installed in two clusters at key points across the country.

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