Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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75. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the reason businesses that paid in cash are excluded from the business users support scheme for kerosene (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51407/23]

Neale Richmond (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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On 6th September this year, Minister Coveney launched the Business Users Support Scheme for Kerosene to provide support to businesses that were impacted by significant increases in the cost of this fuel following the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The scheme provided eligible businesses with a payment to reimburse them for half of their increased costs in the period from 1st March to 31st December 2022, compared to the equivalent period in 2021.

The Business Users Support Scheme for Kerosene closed to applications on the 31st October this year.

My Department is responsible for the policy design and funding of the scheme and the scheme is administered by Enterprise Ireland through a third party.

In order to ensure a suitable level of corporate governance and full financial traceability of payments to suppliers by applicant businesses it was deemed appropriate to build in a validation process with robust evidence of payment by the business for the amounts of Kerosene purchased. This is in line with other schemes administered by Enterprise Ireland on behalf of the Department.