John Cummins (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Fine Gael and this Government understand that businesses as well as people are facing difficult and uncertain times with their energy bills. That is why we introduced the three cycles of a universal energy credit of €200 in budget 2023 and why we introduced the temporary business energy support scheme, which is now open for applications. It is one of the biggest measures introduced in budget 2023 and was introduced to protect businesses at this difficult time. It provides funding for 40% of the increase in energy bills from the start of September through to the end of February up to a figure of €10,000 per month per business based on the uplift in the energy costs between 2021 and 2022. It is a very important measure that will protect jobs and businesses through the winter period. I appreciate it has taken some time for the Government to get approval from the European Commission for this scheme and to get the legislative provisions in place but these are now in place and the scheme is open for businesses. I encourage them to apply online. It is there to support businesses and to protect jobs. That is what we are about as a Government. I encourage businesses to take this up.