Marie Sherlock (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I move recommendation No. 6:

In page 242, between lines 17 and 18, to insert the following:

“(31) The Minister shall within six months after the passing of this Act lay a report before both Houses of the Oireachtas on the operation of the Temporary Business Energy Support Scheme under this section, including— (a) information about the classes of business that are and are not eligible under the scheme, and

(b) information about the classes of electricity customer that are not eligible under this scheme and to which the Electricity Costs (Domestic Electricity Accounts) Emergency Measures Act 2022 does not apply.”.

The recommendation relates specifically to the temporary business energy support scheme, TBESS. Almost everybody in the House welcomes the introduction of TBESS. It will play an important role in assisting businesses and households with the energy crisis this winter. We might quibble about the lack of conditionality associated with the scheme, particularly for businesses, and I have concerns about changes to the payment of wages and to terms and conditions within workplaces, but nonetheless I support it. However, I have a particular concern about the exclusion of certain organisations from the scheme. I acknowledge what the Minister said about objecting to all the recommendations being brought forward here today but this recommendation relates to the operation of the scheme, which is very necessary this winter. I would like clarity as to why certain organisations are being excluded.

It is important to acknowledge that eligibility for the scheme is carefully set out in the Bill with regard to residential householders, the Schedule B case I businesses and those businesses that are exempt from Schedule D cases I and II, which relates to charities and sporting organisations. In setting out those criteria and then excluding certain financial institutions, credit unions are also excluded. We have just had a discussion about financial institutions. Are we really treating regulated funds and banks in the same vein as credit unions when it comes to exclusion from the scheme? Credit unions are member-led, not-for-profit organisations working within communities. They have operating costs. Why is the State excluding credit unions from the scheme?

The second issue concerns organisations that are not for profit but do not fit into the category of a charity, sporting organisation or residential household. They have to pay significant energy bills. One example is the case of owners' management companies, OMCs. The Minister has received correspondence in his office from an apartment block close to where he and I are located. They are quite distressed that their energy bill has increased from €4,000 to €8,000 over the past 12 months. It is a very necessary energy cost and they cannot curtail or reduce it in any way because it relates to powering security cameras and indoor and outdoor lighting for common areas. This is not relating to use within the apartments themselves but the common areas. The role of director of an OMC is a thankless job. Many apartment blocks have enormous challenges as it stands, particularly in dealing with construction and fire defects. They now feel left out in the cold, so to speak, because they have been excluded from this scheme, notwithstanding that they have significant energy bills to contend with. Why have they been excluded? Is there any possibility of being able to include those organisations that I mentioned? As Senator Higgins indicated, we have no mechanism other than to table recommendations seeking a report. That is why we have drafted these recommendations in the way we have done. We are seeking a report six months after the passing of the Act that includes information about the classes of business that are and are not eligible. We have no other way of bringing this issue to the Bill. I look forward to the Minister's response.