Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Senators for the recommendations they have tabled. The data centres are associated with large companies, as Senators said, which are also large employers in Ireland. The retention of data centres within our country is a very important ingredient of how we can keep jobs within our country, especially in the context of changes happening in corporate taxation in the time ahead, when it will be even more important to have other sources of attraction for large employers to associate large amounts of investment within our economy. I am always struck when we get into this debate by how I always hear reference to large profitable companies but never to the fact they are very large employers as well. That is critical in the assessment of data centres. I will not start naming companies associated with data centres, but the vast majority are significant employers as well. Large employment and the location of data centres are not coincidences. They are part of what our economy can offer, which will be even more important in the years ahead.

That being said, Senator Higgins raised an important point about large energy users participating in an energy support scheme running the risk of being disproportionate beneficiaries. This is the very reason we have a monthly cap of €10,000 in place. It will ensure, as more businesses move on to the scheme, we preserve the scheme in such a way that the resources will be available to allow us to maintain it for small- and medium-sized businesses. The exact possibility of large energy users being the largest users of this scheme is the reason a cap of €10,000 is in place per month per trade. Can a data centre be on this scheme? The answer is "Yes". However, the most a data centre will access from it is €10,000 per month which means it is far more likely they will look to access other schemes available throughout the State to support large energy users that, in turn, tend to be large employers as well.

With regard to the point that was raised about credit unions by Senator Sherlock, they are excluded from the TBESS. The reason for that is credit and financial institutions are excluded under the EU temporary crisis framework. Credit unions in Ireland fall under that definition just as other financial institutions in other jurisdictions do. That is the reason credit unions are not included in the scheme.

The Senator made another point about common spaces and lighting within apartment blocks in the context of management companies. Regrettably, they are excluded from the scheme with the rationale being that this is a temporary business energy support scheme. The scheme's criteria are laid out as being case 1 and case 2 categories within our tax code, one of which is trading businesses and the other, professions. They should be tax compliant and there should be a significant increase in their natural gas and electricity schemes. I expect, over time, this will be a broadly used scheme but whenever a scheme such as this is put together, as I know the Senator will appreciate, there are always entities and businesses that will be outside its scope. The purpose of this scheme is to support businesses to support employment and to try to avoid a very large price shock turning in to an employment shock.

With regard to the other thrust of the group of amendments put forward, especially amendment No. 8 from Senator Higgins regarding the need for more information on the operation of the scheme, it has now become a custom that with these large interventions within our economy, other examples of which being the employment wage subsidy scheme, EWSS, the Revenue Commissioners and the Department of Finance will publish information regarding use every month. I am confident the information the House seeks this afternoon will be available an awful lot sooner than in six months. We will aim to publish data on the use and cost of the scheme on a monthly basis through the Revenue Commissioners just as we did with the EWSS and other similar schemes.

With regard to the final point put to me by Senator Higgins on charity and community voluntary organisations that will be excluded from this, if one has a tradeable and taxable income such as a charity shop, one is included in the scheme. If one does not meet the definition, one will be excluded, which means some community and voluntary organisations will be excluded. However, my other colleagues in government have brought forward other schemes that aim to support some community and sporting organisations that are not businesses with the higher cost of energy. As always, even in a scheme this broad and potentially this big, it is regrettable there are entities outside its definition but it is also unavoidable and that is why other Departments are bringing forward schemes looking to provide other forms of help.