Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

The announcement of yesterday's cost-of-living package was an admission that the budget was not enough. Let us not forget that this budget was billed as a giveaway budget and yet it still failed to protect the most vulnerable in our society. Last September, the Social Democrats warned that the budget was not enough. It was not enough to provide sustainable relief to struggling households, to address the long-running crisis in health and housing or to lift people out of poverty. Yesterday, Deputy Shortall made it clear that this latest package would again fail to protect the most vulnerable in our society. Today, I would like to draw the attention of the House to the experience of businesses. When the Government announced the TBESS last September, the Social Democrats welcomed it in principle. Unlike the Covid-19 crisis, when wages needed to be supported, the current crisis necessitates the support of viable but vulnerable businesses in paying their energy bills. Those are businesses that without the energy crisis would not be in financial difficulty.

In respect of funding, this Government support scheme broadly mirrors the alternative budget proposal made by the Social Democrats. However, the execution has left much to be desired. The Department of Finance's figures speak for themselves. Over €1.25 billion has been provided to the TBESS, but just €17.5 million has been paid out so far. That is just unbelievable at a time when 69% of businesses are worried about energy costs, the third highest figure globally. That level of uptake is a damning indictment of the scheme. Clearly, the first iteration of this scheme was not fit for purpose. One would have to question seriously the level of stakeholder engagement carried out ahead of its launch. I would have thought that a party like Fine Gael, which prides itself on supporting businesses and has held the business brief since the Government was formed, would have come up with a more workable scheme. Nonetheless, I welcome the decision, albeit late in the day, to extend and amend the scheme in order to assist viable but vulnerable businesses.

However, there is still an issue that I would like to flag.

It has come to my attention that some businesses whose premises are located on business campuses cannot avail of the scheme. Where units in a wider campus all share one electricity meter, very often the bills are divided up by the landlord based on the unit size. In such cases, because businesses renting units share electricity supply, they cannot avail of the scheme. Will the Minister please ensure the scheme is amended to ensure that these businesses are not excluded from supports?

We must ensure that this energy crisis does not turn into a sustained job crisis. I hope the reduction in wholesale energy prices will soon be reflected in business energy bills but, in the meantime, we need a scheme that is fit for purpose, accessible and not so convoluted that people are not drawing down from it. We need a scheme that protects struggling small businesses but does not line the pockets of already profitable businesses.

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