Garret Ahearn (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State and the Department for the response. I welcome the fact that the Department is developing a small-scale generation scheme for generators above 50 kW to support the deployment of rooftop and ground-mounted solar PV. That is really significant. The Minister of State indicated that the scheme is expected to be launched this year. I hope that will be done as quickly as possible, because I have talked about energy supports for up to 50 kW at least.

When I say that businesses get no supports, I mean they get a little bit of support in the form of €900 for up to 2 kW. The latter is not enough energy to boil a kettle. I am talking about businesses such as supermarkets or butchers so have high energy costs and are willing to invest in solar panels to reduce their cost but need that support from the State. The scheme is supposed to be set up this year. We are already more than one third of the way through the year. I ask the Minister of State to ask the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications if it would engage with me and, in particular, with businesses in rural areas like County Tipperary on this matter.