Marian Harkin (Sligo-Leitrim, Independent)
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93. To ask the Minister for Finance if he will increase the percentage payment for the temporary business energy support scheme, TBESS, to SMEs that are highly energy-dependent and where their energy bills are a significant portion of their outgoings. [53732/22]

Marian Harkin (Sligo-Leitrim, Independent)
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Will the Minister consider increasing the percentage payment for the temporary business energy support scheme, specifically to SMEs that are highly energy-dependent and where their energy bills form a significant portion of their outgoings? I accept the Minister has moved to help businesses, but in truth, a lot of businesses are in trouble and the help is not enough. I also accept there are issues relating to EU state aid rules, but what flexibility is there and is there anything more that he can do?

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy very much. As she will be aware, the details of the new TBESS are set out in the Finance Bill, which will begin Committee Stage later today. The scheme will provide support to qualifying businesses in respect of energy costs relating to the period from 1 September 2022 to 28 February 2023.

The TBESS will be available to tax-compliant businesses carrying on a trade or profession, the profits of which are chargeable to tax under case I or case II of Schedule D where they meet the eligibility criteria. It will also be available to certain charities and approved bodies who, but for specific exemptions, would be chargeable to tax under case I or case II. The scheme will be operated on a self-assessment basis.

Payments will be made on the basis of 40% of the amount of the increase in eligible electricity or natural gas costs between the bill amount, which is the subject of the claim and the bill amount in the corresponding reference period in the previous year. Payments are generally subject to a monthly cap of €10,000 per trade, increasing to a maximum of €30,000 in certain circumstances. In line with the EU temporary crisis framework, there is also an overall cap on the amount that an undertaking can claim.

The scheme will be open shortly. I recognise the important point the Deputy made, which is that even though she broadly welcomes the scheme that is being introduced, she questions the adequacy of the cap and the help that the measure will provide. I believe the scale of the measures that we have brought forward will provide a real help, but I am also aware that a change in the cap in any way could have a significant impact on the overall cost of the scheme. What we should do is get the scheme up and running first, see what the cost is and how it is helping businesses.

Marian Harkin (Sligo-Leitrim, Independent)
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I hear what the Minister said. He has to look after the money, as it were. We already know from many businesses that they are in trouble. The Minister knows that in his constituency, as I do in mine, businesses are closing. A very well-known butcher in Sligo closed one of its shops yesterday. They said it was because of increased electricity and operational costs. They are just one of many. We know now it is not going to be enough. I know the Minister has certain constraints around state aid rules, but is there any flexibility or anything else he can put in place to help businesses that are struggling? It is not just the huge increase in energy costs; it is the cumulative increase. We know that public liability insurance costs are still far too high. I support the increase in the minimum wage, but it adds significantly to the costs of businesses, which are cumulative.

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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I must be honest with the Deputy. We can help, in particular with the energy costs, but no government should give the indication to the people of Ireland and the economy that we can cover or insulate any business from all of the cost changes that are going on at the moment. I know the Deputy recognises that. While she was perhaps not calling on me to do it, she was putting the energy costs in the context of all of the other prices that are going up as well. I know the butcher's shop to which she referred. People will have been working in the shop and families will have been dependent on it who now find themselves at a tough moment. I am sure they are worrying about where the next job will come from. I fully understand that. We are trying to help. I believe we are using as much flexibility as we can under the state aid framework, but I reiterate that we should get the scheme up and running, and understand what it will cost and what impact it is having. The Government will keep this matter under review. I do not believe a change is currently merited.

Marian Harkin (Sligo-Leitrim, Independent)
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What I am asking is that the Minister would keep it under review, because as I said, businesses are struggling. The Minister will be very well aware that even though he is bringing in this scheme and he decreased the VAT rate, the VAT payments on energy bills for most businesses is now greater, even at 9%, than it was a year or two ago. He has extra money. I want him to look at the reality of business and to think in terms of how flexible he can be.

I asked the Tánaiste about this a week or two ago and he indicated that if businesses are not viable, the Government can step in to support them where other businesses cannot get staff. The truth is, however, that many businesses that were viable three, six, nine months or a year ago are no longer viable because of increased energy costs., and many are small businesses. Will the Minister keep this in mind?

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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Yes, very much so, and I fully appreciate the reality of what the Deputy outlined. I see this in small shops and businesses in my constituency, Dublin Central, and throughout the city of Dublin. I was in Mullingar on Friday evening and met many amazing local business people who employ so many people and are confronting the very kind of pressure the Deputy referred to. Of course, we will keep the scheme under review. The Tánaiste has also brought forward many different proposals and policies to help other energy users and I expect other Ministers will do likewise to help some sectors that are not part of this scheme. We will keep it under review, but I want to be candid to the House in saying this scheme, at €1.2 billion, is the single biggest measure in the budget, and I have a duty to the Deputy and the businesses she represents to ensure that any scheme we bring forward will be one we can afford if we need to sustain some measures for longer.