Brendan Griffin (Kerry, Fine Gael)
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54. To ask the Minister for Finance if the temporary business energy support scheme will be extended to cover businesses that use LPG in areas not served by piped gas (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [62508/22]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 54 and 59 together.

Details of the new Temporary Business Energy Support Scheme (TBESS) are set out in Finance Bill 2022. The TBESS will be available to tax compliant businesses carrying on a trade or profession the profits of which are chargeable to tax under Case I or Case II of Schedule D where they meet the eligibility criteria and to certain sporting bodies and charities. The scheme will operate on a self-assessment basis.

The TBESS only applies to the metered supply of natural gas and electricity and there are no plans to extend it beyond these energy sources. The scheme is designed around determining increases in unit prices and actual consumption for the period of the scheme based on information made available through electricity and gas meters.

For energy sources such as oil and LPG, it would not be possible to accurately determine the actual usage for each claim period (month), the relevant unit price for each claim period, or the actual increase in that unit price and usage over the same period in the reference period. For instance, an oil tank could be filled during the summer, with the oil being used in the winter months, or in February 2023 with the oil being used in the months that follow.