Christopher O'Sullivan (Cork South West, Fianna Fail)
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86. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if consideration will be given for supports for businesses to assist with their rising energy costs; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25214/22]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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The invasion of Ukraine has exacerbated the inflationary pressures that Ireland and other economies were already experiencing in the wake of the supply chain disruptions brought by the pandemic. The war, and the necessary introduction of sanctions against Russia, is also disrupting supply chains and leading to large rises in international prices for energy, food and other commodities. The Government recognises the additional challenge these rising prices are bringing for households and businesses, as many are still trying to recover from the effects of COVID-19.

Ireland imports over 70 per cent of our energy use and the Government cannot fully insulate individuals and businesses from developments in international energy markets that are outside of our control. However, the Government has already implemented several measures to help ease the impact on enterprises and households of energy price increases including:

- a temporary reduction in the excise duties charged, by 20 cent per litre of petrol, 15 cent per litre of diesel, and 2 cent in the excise duty charged on marked gas oil, at an estimated cost of €320 million in 2022.

- For hauliers, a temporary grant scheme will provide a payment of €100 per week to help mitigate the rising price of fuel. The scheme will operate for a period of eight weeks and is valued at €18 million.

- A temporary, targeted intervention package for the tillage sector to the value of €12.2 million in response to the impact on farming.

My Department is supporting the Department of Environment, Climate and Communications in leading consultations with industry to learn about the specific impacts of higher energy costs on Irish businesses, and to hear their concerns and perspectives on the appropriate and most effective tools for policy action.

This follows on from a meeting of the Enterprise Forum which I convened to hear first-hand how the war in Ukraine is affecting businesses in Ireland. The three main issues raised at that meeting were difficulties in supply chains in Europe and around the world, recent increases in the cost of raw materials and foodstuffs, and energy security and prices.

The European Commission recently launched its Temporary State Aid Crisis Framework for businesses affected by the Russian invasion of Ukraine. This opens the way for Member States to consider if specific instruments might be needed in the near term, in order to help vulnerable but viable businesses to overcome the acute impacts of the current crisis. As part of the Framework, access to low-cost loans and grants may be made available in order to meet liquidity needs and facilitate necessary investment.

In terms of short-term temporary supports, there are already effective schemes in place, in response to Brexit and Covid-19. The Government will consider whether, and to what degree, such schemes might be pivoted to firms impacted by the Ukraine crisis in particular.

I would also encourage firms to take this opportunity to achieve greater energy efficiency and to begin their decarbonisation transition. Last month, utilising funds available under the EU’s National Recovery and Resilience fund, I launched the Climate Enterprise Action Fund with an initial allocation of €10m. This will fund up to 850 companies at an early stage of exploring climate and sustainability to develop a high-level company action plan, and up to 100 more-advanced companies to develop comprehensive multi-annual business plans. A second fund, the Carbon Reduction Fund, will launch later this year.