Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)
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As Minister of State for Business, Employment and Retail, I am very conscious of the scale of the energy crisis and how worried retailers are as they witness the rising cost of energy and of doing business.

With this in mind, in Budget 2023, the Government introduced a significant package to help businesses with escalating energy costs and to plan for the future.

The new Temporary Business Energy Support Scheme (TBESS) will provide support for businesses that have experienced a significant increase in their electricity and natural gas costs, is being introduced. The scheme falls under the European Commission Temporary Crisis Framework (TCF) and is subject to State Aid approval.

The scheme will be administered by the Revenue Commissioners on a self-assessment basis. It will apply to tax compliant businesses carrying out a trade or profession (Case I and Case II). It will also apply to new businesses. A monthly cap on relief of €10,000 per trade or profession will apply. However, where a qualifying business operates across more than one location increased relief may be available subject to a monthly cap of €30,000. The scheme will run from 1 September 2022 to 31 December 2022, with the intention to extend it to 28 February 2023 subject to the anticipated extension of the TCF.

In addition to this is a new Growth and Sustainability Loan Scheme, which will make up to €500 million in low-cost investment loans of up to 10 years available to SMEs, with no collateral required for loans up to €500,000. A minimum of 30% of the lending volume will be targeted towards Environmental Sustainability purposes.

The reduced rate of VAT on gas and electricity from 13.5% to 9% has been extended until the 28th February 2023.

The Government are also raising awareness around energy efficiency, helping businesses reduce the amount of energy they use in the first place and improving take-up of the approximately 20 existing schemes that we already have in place for business to help them reduce their energy costs. These include the Green4Micro programme: www.localenterprise.ie/Green/Green-for-Micro.htmland the Climate Toolkit for Business: www.climatetoolkit4business.gov.ie/.

Additionally, small businesses can currently receive an energy audit voucher from SEAI to get professional advice on how to increase efficiency and reduce their costs. Specific guidance to retailers about the current government schemes and supports in relation to energy costs and sustainability can be found on the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment’s website .

I chair the Retail Forum of which Musgrave Group are members. The last meeting of the Retail Forum was held on the 5 October and Energy and Sustainability was a key agenda item. Under that item attendees heard from the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) on the supports they have available for retailers. The agenda, driven by Forum Members, will continue to address issues impacting on the sector.

The Government will keep the energy situation under constant review and will continue to examine what measures are possible to manage the impact of rising energy prices.

In relation to introducing new rights for employees or strengthening existing provisions in the law, we have taken care to ensure that the measures are proportionate and balanced by reasonable defences for employers, recognising the challenges faced by employers in running their business.

From next year there will be a new permanent public holiday established in celebration of Imbolc/St. Brigid’s day. The new public holiday will bring the number of public holidays in Ireland to 10. The number of public holidays in other member states varies from 8 to 15 days. The Social Partners were consulted before a decision was made.

This Government committed to introducing a statutory sick pay scheme. The pandemic exposed the precarious position of many workers, especially in the private sector and in lower-paid roles, when it comes to missing work due to illness.

Any move to introduce a statutory sick pay scheme has been balanced with the need to support the viability of the business and enterprise sector, thereby protecting jobs. This Department undertook a full public consultation, reviewed international best practice, and formed an interdepartmental group – to ensure that all views and issues were properly considered in the development of the scheme. There has also been extensive consultation with employers and unions on these measures, and the scheme is comparable with those in other advanced EU economies.