Martin Browne (Tipperary, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I wish to address the concerns that have been expressed to me, as they have no doubt been expressed to the Minister and to other Members of this House, about the number of businesses that unfortunately have had to close some of their branches. I am referring to butchers specifically. Some of them have had to close branches or have had to shut their doors altogether. One such butcher in Thurles is a member of the Irish Butchers' Guild. He told me that he has been forced to close one of his branches and let go six staff. The Minister of State can imagine the impact this has on a local economy. In his letter the business owner told me that the increase in the electricity charges is unsustainable and he points out that many butcher shops have closed already this year. Unfortunately, this owner has had to close one shop and this has a major impact. He has another shop in Clonmel. All over the country such shops are in massive trouble. This type of retailer needs the highest quality of refrigeration to comply with the standards of the Food Safety Authority of Ireland Act and with hygiene regulations. This cannot be overstated. In anticipation of what has come to pass, they made great progress in becoming more energy efficient, including using the latest solar panels, water heaters, insulation, LED lighting and so on. In the past 18 months this owner had invested €150,000 in the shop that is now closed. Now those six jobs are gone, along with the money he had ploughed into his shop. He has another shop in Clonmel, which employs another six people, but something needs to be done and done fast so that this shop does not close, and other shops like it around.

Among other things, my purpose as a Deputy is, like all Members here, to be a messenger and to bring the concerns of the public to the likes of the Minister and Ministers of State who sit here, and this is what I am doing today. The business owner has pointed out that small and medium-sized enterprises have been singled out by the Ministers' Departments and others as being the backbone of the Irish economy. They were asked to stay open during the Covid period. Now, however, with the big threat of Covid gone, they just seem to have been forgotten about again. Only 12 months ago they were considered essential. It must be galling for such business owners that they are spending that kind of money to try to stay open and they see the small schemes the Government is bringing out, and yet most of the electricity companies are making massive profits of hundreds of millions of euro in a six to nine-month period while the SMEs are being forced to close their places. The business owner told me that he sees the temporary business energy support scheme as somewhat helpful but not nearly enough to offset the overhead that he has laid out. He has described the outlays coming down the line as being astronomical.

That scheme was too little too late for the branch of the business this butcher had to close. We need to have action to ensure the future viability of his other branch, and many other businesses such as locally-owned supermarkets and others who have also contacted me. The ability of the scheme to provide for businesses such as his is limited given its timeframe. That scheme deals with the winter months but more energy is used by businesses like his in the summer months. This is what such businesses tell us. We need to see measures introduced that are tailored to the specific needs of businesses and which are effective enough to give them certainty.

I welcome the Credit Guarantee (Amendment) Bill but it must be noted that due to Covid and the emergence last year of rising inflation, many businesses took on debt. There are businesses for whom this scheme will be of very limited benefit. That needs to be looked at. We must look further and we must see immediate action.

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