Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 29 June 2023
12. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment when the scheme for businesses impacted by kerosene price increases will go live; and if it will be expanded to businesses impacted by liquid petroleum gas and liquefied natural gas price increases. [31537/23]
View answerWhen will the scheme for businesses impacted by kerosene price increases go live, and does the Minister plan to expand the scheme to businesses impacted by liquid petroleum gas and liquefied natural gas price increases?
I am glad I have time to put facts on the record on this issue. It is a good news story. We are moving it forward.
The cost of energy is a major factor, as people will be aware, in the operation of most businesses. The impact of the significant price increases experienced by businesses in 2022 and 2023, following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, was mitigated by the introduction of the temporary business energy support scheme, TBESS, to support companies dealing with increases in the price of metered electricity and natural gas. Following a review of the operation of TBESS, the Government agreed to the development and implementation of a scheme to extend similar supports to companies that rely on kerosene oil for heating purposes.
The development of a scheme is justified by the fact that the price of kerosene was 64% higher during the 2022 TBESS reference period than in 2021. It is intended that the kerosene scheme will provide flat rate payments to businesses to mitigate the impact of price increases during 2022. Businesses will receive banded payments based on the volume of kerosene usage during the year. We have tried to simplify the scheme so that it is much easier to apply for and the amounts are much clearer. The possibility of extending the scheme to businesses that use liquid petroleum gas, LPG, was also examined. However, available data showed that LPG prices increased by less than 20% during the TBESS reference period compared to 2021. It was therefore considered that the inclusion of LPG users in the scheme could not be justified. In order to qualify for TBESS, applicants must have seen prices increase by more than 30%. The increase in the price of LPG was not close to that so we could not justify including it. The opposite was the case for kerosene, the price of which increased by 64%.
Officials in my Department are working with Enterprise Ireland and other relevant Departments to finalise details of the kerosene scheme. The payments will be made through an extension of Enterprise Ireland. We will not do so through Revenue this time. The scheme is more or less finalised now. It is anticipated that we will shortly be in a position to notify the European Commission of the proposed scheme, as required under EU state aid law. It is intended that the scheme will be launched in September, subject to state aid approval and approval by the Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform being received and as has been agreed by the Cabinet. I hope we will get it up and running at the start of September.
Approximately 22,000 companies could potentially apply.
We anticipate that we could spend somewhere between €15 million and €24 million. It depends on how many companies apply.
I welcome the simplification. The Minister will be aware Sinn Féin has raised this issue on a number of occasions. My colleagues, Deputies Conway-Walsh, Kerrane and Mairéad Farrell and others, and I have been raising this matter, so we are pleased the Government was listening and is going to act on it.
I encourage the Minister to engage with those businesses that use liquefied petroleum gas and liquefied natural gas and discuss the challenges they are facing. I understand the numbers may not stack up in terms of the other schemes but they are still under a fair amount of pressure. It would be a good opportunity for the Minister and the officials in his Department to hear directly from them. I know they feel aggrieved at being excluded from the scheme notwithstanding the reasons the Minister has given. As I said, we welcome the fact the Government has acted on a suggestion we made. We also welcome the fact it is going to be simplified because, as the Minister knows, there were issues with some of the other schemes, which were overly complicated for people to access. That news is welcome.
