Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein)
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58. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if his attention has been drawn to research from an organisation (details supplied) that found that 70% of small and medium enterprises in Ireland fear that they may have to close in 2023 due to rising costs. [62095/22]

Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein)
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This is a very straightforward question. The question relates to research by Wise Business, a global fintech group, which found that 70% of SMEs in Ireland fear they may have to close in 2023 due to rising costs. Will the Minister outline the supports that are available for businesses and when they will be coming on stream? Has he read this report and are the results of it concerning to him in any way?

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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It is fair to say that the Government has not been found wanting when it has come to helping businesses get through difficult periods and saving the jobs of people who work in those businesses. We demonstrated this throughout the pandemic, particularly with the employment wage subsidy scheme, EWSS.

I am very conscious of how worried SME owners and managers are as we go into the winter. Putin's invasion of Ukraine has had massive consequences for the whole of Europe, not just in Ireland. Indeed, we are now facing a global inflation crisis exacerbated by the war.

While I have not been able to locate the Wise Business survey cited by the Deputy, I understand from media reports that it finds a large proportion of businesses fear they might have to close in 2023. On a more positive note, it finds that nearly two thirds of respondents are investing in or expanding their online presence, while more than half are planning to expand their business abroad.

My message to SMEs, professionals and farmers, is that help is now available. The temporary business energy support scheme, TBESS, will provide qualifying businesses with relief on 40% of the increase in their electricity or gas bills, up to a maximum of €10,000 per month and €30,000 in some cases. It is important that businesses get their paperwork and bills in order, register and make a claim on revenue.ie. That is now open.

As we said on budget day, the TBESS needed to be designed and receive state aid approval from the European Union, which it now has. Now that we have all the steps in place, we will shortly be able to issue payments and hope to do so before Christmas. These will be backdated to September.

Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein)
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Will the Minister give a definitive date for when the first payment will be made? I am aware that the scheme is open but people are anxious to know when they will get the payments. The survey from Wise Business covered 250 businesses. What they are reporting is worrying. Notwithstanding some positives in the survey, and while I do not wish to focus on the negative, they raise the concern that two thirds of SMEs believe there is a possibility they will have to close within the next year, while just one in three believe their business will be okay. I have never set up a business but I am married to someone who has done so. Sometimes it works out and sometimes it does not. It is tough when small business owners might be just about managing to pay their staff wages but maybe not pay wages for themselves. It is hard for people in the private sector at the moment. Many of the businesses surveyed criticised the poor banking solutions that were available and called for greater competition in the banking sector. What are the Minister's views on what his Government can do and is doing to help businesses, and specifically in the context of the issues that were raised about the need for competition in the banking sector and the issues raised about the banking sector in general?

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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On the Deputy's first question, I do not have the payment date for the first payment yet. I have spoken to the Minister for Finance about this and he indicated to me that the first payments would land in business accounts before Christmas, but I do not want to swear to that. I will follow this up with him.

Although I have not seen the Wise Business survey itself, from the reports I have seen it is worrying. I was certainly worried when I read the headline figures from it. There are other business surveys that are less pessimistic. A recent survey from Behaviour and Attitudes with a sample size of 1,500 showed that 45% of businesses reported increased turnover in the past six months, with 18% reporting a decrease, and 61% of SMEs reporting a profit this year compared to only 53% last year. Most of the companies surveyed said they were more likely to hire staff than let staff go.

On banking, the main thing we are doing is bringing in Government-backed loans, which allow businesses to borrow at lower rates and for longer periods. As the Deputy will be aware, banks are leaving Ireland, whether people like it or not. They can make more money with the same capital elsewhere. This is the reason they are leaving. Any competition would have to come from non-bank actors in the main.

Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein)
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On the expansion of the rate of payments under the TBESS, is the 40% coverage of additional costs as far as the Government can go? I have pushed the Minister of State, Deputy English, a little on this question previously. I ask this because the current difficulties being experienced by Irish businesses, particularly SMEs and family businesses, are fairly significant. They need to know there will be flexibility in the event they need to go further on it. I am seeking from the Minister an assurance that this can be done.

There was a postponement in the increase in toll fares but that is still on the agenda. On top of the other increased costs businesses are facing, they are paying higher insurance premiums and the cost of fuel has gone up. Businesses are doing their best. I know from talking to them, and the Minister knows, that they are trying to remain agile but they do need some degree of certainty. I welcome that he said the Minister for Finance wants the first payments to be made before Christmas. That would be helpful for people who are trying to plan. The Wise survey specifically relates to their fears for next year, not this year. It would go a long way towards that if the Minister could give people a definitive date.

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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I am told that the first payments will land in business accounts within the next two weeks. I will check with the Minister for Finance tomorrow and get back to the Deputy if more information is available. At the moment, 40% is as far as we can go under EU state aid rules. In fact, we have stretched it a little. The rules say 30% but we were able to get clearance for 40%. We have done other things like reducing excise on petrol and diesel, and there are other schemes available and certainly for companies that are exporting or manufacturing. They tend to be big energy users. There are other schemes available, in some cases allowing up to €2 million to be provided to companies in the form of grants, loans, and equities. I would encourage those companies in particular to engage with Enterprise Ireland and IDA Ireland to see whether other schemes are available that would help them if the TBESS does not.