Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Sinn Féin welcomes the changes that have been made to the TBESS by the Government. For several weeks, we have been telling the Government that the TBESS is failing SMEs and microbusinesses, in particular due to the interlinked problems caused by the qualifying threshold being too high and the relief being too low. As a result, SMEs and microbusinesses have struggled to access the scheme. This is evidenced by the fact that as of 17 February, only €38 million in relief had been issued to businesses from a €1.2 billion support scheme. Thankfully, the Government has brought forward welcome changes in line with what Sinn Féin and others have been calling for. The lowering of the threshold and the increasing of the relief rates, as well as the raising of the payment limits, will ensure that the support fund achieves its aim of providing much-needed assistance to SMEs and microbusinesses struggling with energy costs.

However, there are additional structural issues which need to be addressed. Businesses have stated that the application process is too convoluted, with guidelines explaining the scheme running to over 100 pages and the process itself taking hours and often necessitating the payment of an accountant. These structural difficulties have not been addressed and I implore that the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment speak to small businesses, as well as to business groups like the Irish Small and Medium Employers, ISME, the Family Business Network Ireland and the Small Firms Association, about how the process can be simplified and shortened. We also welcome the commitment given by the Government to establish a new grant for businesses using liquefied petroleum gas, LPG, or kerosene. I am sure that there is room for this in the €1.2 billion allocated for TBESS. Can I confirm that the money for the grant, the scheme or whatever it is that the Minister has just alluded to is coming from the €1.2 billion? Sinn Féin has been calling for these improvements since the scheme went live. They will make a significant difference for many businesses around the State.

I will add that it is not only the TBESS which has struggled with take-up. The Ukraine enterprise crisis scheme was also announced in budget 2023. This €200 million scheme provides two streams of support: for viable manufacturing and internationally traded service companies with liquidity needs due to the war in Ukraine, and for energy-intensive companies. Stream 1 of the scheme, which is aimed at addressing direct liquidity issues, offers aid of up to €500,000 in grants, repayable advances, and equity or loans, or both, to exporters who experience supply chain input cost increases due to the war in Ukraine. As of yesterday, €3.8 million has been issued under this stream to 14 companies. Stream 2 of the scheme is for energy-intensive businesses. It is aimed at providing a grant of up to €2 million for increased energy costs incurred between February and December 2022. As of yesterday, only one application has been returned for this scheme and no moneys have been issued as yet. Some €38 million of the €1.2 billion assigned to the TBESS has been issued. In the case of the Ukraine enterprise crisis scheme, we have €3.8 million of €200 million issued.

As I said, I welcome the changes made to the TBESS. Along with my colleagues in Sinn Féin, I have been calling for these changes for some time. It is to the credit of the Minister that he has listened and implemented these effective changes. They must be monitored to ensure they are working to make the scheme effective and attractive for struggling businesses. Again, I ask the Minister to look at the structural difficulties that businesses experience when applying for the scheme to see if this process can be shortened. Finally, I ask the Minister to assess the performance of the Ukraine enterprise crisis scheme and see if similar changes might be needed to make that scheme more attractive and effective.

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