Micheál Carrigy (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I support Senator Currie's comments. A significant number of people still have not received their payment and it just needs to be dealt with, to be quite honest.

I wish to raise a number of issues this morning. We need to review the temporary business energy support, TBES, scheme. The Government set aside €1 billion to help companies with increased energy costs but it is my understanding that only €20 million has actually been drawn down to date under that scheme. There seems to be an anomaly whereby some businesses that are in longer-term contracts were not able to demonstrate an increase in costs based on their previous bill but now they are in the full throes of the increase.We need to ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment to look at that scheme because there is an anomaly in it. We are putting the money there and it is there for companies, but the drawdown is not there. We are coming close to the closing date for anyone looking to draw down for September 2022. That is finishing up in the next week. It is an issue we need to highlight.

I cover tourism for my party. We know that for various reasons, we have issues with accommodation in this country. We will have a difficulty in the tourism season ahead, for example with regard to companies that have tours coming into the country being able to access accommodation. One of the recommendations of the tourism recovery task force was to have a global invitation, something like The Gathering we had back in 2013. That is pencilled in for this year. Fáilte Ireland has planned to do a worldwide global promotion to bring our diaspora back to Ireland. I do not think this is the year to do it. It needs to be reviewed before it goes ahead. It should be pushed off to 2024. We are struggling to get accommodation for the tourists who have been pencilled in, including those coming with tour companies from America and all over Europe. Therefore, that campaign should be reviewed and looked at for 2024. That would be a sensible option.