Rose Conway-Walsh (Mayo, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister and let me be helpful to him because what he is saying does not tie up with what I know and, as the Minister of State, Deputy Calleary, is here, he will know this also. First, on 21 March, the Minister of State, Deputy Richmond, assured me that a grant would be put in place for LPG-reliant businesses. Last month, rural businesses went from being an afterthought to being completely forgotten and the grant scheme was quietly dropped.

The senior Minister stated in a written response to me that the average price of LPG increased by less than 20%, and he mentioned a 30% threshold for an increase. I have been shown bills, as I would imagine has the Minister of State, Deputy Calleary, as well, which show that there were increases far above the 20%. One business, as late as one hour ago, told me today that their costs went from 39 cent to 69 cent per litre in 2022. That is an almost 100% increase. That is an absolute fact and I can give the Minister the evidence to show him that. When one needs 1000 l a week, one can imagine the pressure these businesses are under. Will the Minister, therefore, review the data that was used to exclude these businesses and will he put in place a process for these businesses to show what they are actually paying and how they can access the scheme because the data does not tie up?

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