Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Wednesday, 22 Feb 2023

Vol. 1034 No. 1

Temporary Business Energy Support Scheme: Motion

Minister for Finance (Deputy Michael McGrath)

I move:

That Dáil Éireann approves the following Orders in draft:

Finance Act 2022 (Temporary Business Energy Support Scheme) (Energy Costs Threshold Aggregate Amount) Order 2023,

Finance Act 2022 (Temporary Business Energy Support Scheme) (Energy Costs Threshold Aggregate Amount) (No. 2) Order 2023, and

Finance Act 2022 (Temporary Business Energy Support Scheme) (Specified Period) Order 2023,

copies of which have been laid in draft form before Dáil Éireann on 21st February, 2023.

The temporary business energy support scheme, TBESS, was introduced to support qualifying businesses over the winter months with increases in electricity or natural gas costs that arose as a result of the invasion of Ukraine by Russia. Sections 100 to 102, inclusive, of the Finance Act 2022 provide the legislative basis for the scheme. The scheme provides support to qualifying businesses in respect of energy costs relating to the period from 1 September 2022 to 28 February 2023, subject to monthly caps.

The TBESS is available to eligible 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. The scheme operates on a self-assessment basis. The scheme, which is being administered by Revenue, provides for a cash payment to qualifying businesses. State aid approval for the scheme was received on 24 November 2022. Revenue’s online system for registration for the scheme opened on 26 November 2022 and claims can be submitted under the scheme since 5 December 2022. The Finance Act 2022 was signed into law on 15 December 2022 and payments to qualifying claimants commenced after this date.

In accordance with section 100(1) of the Finance Act 2022, my Department has carried out an assessment of the matters relevant to the scheme. Following this assessment and relevant consultation with the Ministers for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, the Environment, Climate and Communications, and Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform, I propose to exercise the powers set out in section 100(2)(a) of the Finance Act 2022. This section provides that the Minister of Finance can extend the scheme to 30 April 2023 and can increase or decrease the monthly limits on relief by ministerial order where it is considered necessary to ensure that the scheme is meeting its objectives.

While the Government confirmed its decision yesterday to extend the scheme to 31 May 2023, pending introduction of necessary legislation to make this change, and to facilitate the continuation of the scheme in the meantime, I propose to exercise the power contained in section 100 of the Finance Act 2022 to extend the scheme to 30 April 2023. I also propose to exercise the power to increase the monthly limit on aid under the scheme to €15,000 per trade or profession, subject to an overall cap of €45,000 in cases where a business is carried on from more than one location. These limits are currently €10,000 and €30,000, respectively. The increase will be prospective, applying from 1 March 2023.

The extension of the scheme and increase in the monthly limits on aid are considered necessary to provide certainty to businesses and to ensure they can continue to be given the support required to deal with the ongoing negative impacts arising from Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine. It is evident that higher energy costs continue to be keenly felt by businesses across the country and that the situation demands continued Government intervention. I also propose to make a number of further amendments to the scheme, which were agreed by Government yesterday. These changes will be made via legislation and are subject to state aid approval as they go beyond what is allowed in the Finance Act 2022.

First, I propose to extend the end date of the scheme to 31 May 2023 with a further option to extend to 31 July 2023. Second, I propose to reduce the energy cost threshold for the scheme such that a tax-compliant business may claim relief where it can demonstrate that the average unit price for electricity or natural gas on the relevant bill has increased by 30% or more as compared to the average unit price of electricity or natural gas in a reference period. This revised threshold will be applied on a retrospective basis from September 2022 such that businesses that were not previously eligible for the scheme due to the 50% energy cost threshold may now be eligible for the scheme. Third, I propose to increase, on a prospective basis from 1 March 2023, the level of relief from 40% of the eligible cost to 50%, subject to the relevant monthly caps contained in the legislation.

It is important to note that state aid approval under the temporary crisis framework for state aid measures to support the economy following the aggression against Ukraine by Russia is required before amendments to TBESS can be implemented. Finally, as the Government announced yesterday, a separate scheme will be developed by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment for businesses that use oil and liquefied petroleum gas, LPG.

I acknowledge this is an issue that many Deputies from across the House have raised in recent weeks. It was not possible to deal with that issue through the TBESS, based on the feedback from Revenue, but we have now reached agreement that a separate and comparable scheme will be developed by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment as quickly as possible.

Deputy Louise O'Reilly

Sinn Féin welcomes the changes that have been made to the TBESS by the Government. For several weeks, we have been telling the Government that the TBESS is failing SMEs and microbusinesses, in particular due to the interlinked problems caused by the qualifying threshold being too high and the relief being too low. As a result, SMEs and microbusinesses have struggled to access the scheme. This is evidenced by the fact that as of 17 February, only €38 million in relief had been issued to businesses from a €1.2 billion support scheme. Thankfully, the Government has brought forward welcome changes in line with what Sinn Féin and others have been calling for. The lowering of the threshold and the increasing of the relief rates, as well as the raising of the payment limits, will ensure that the support fund achieves its aim of providing much-needed assistance to SMEs and microbusinesses struggling with energy costs.

However, there are additional structural issues which need to be addressed. Businesses have stated that the application process is too convoluted, with guidelines explaining the scheme running to over 100 pages and the process itself taking hours and often necessitating the payment of an accountant. These structural difficulties have not been addressed and I implore that the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment speak to small businesses, as well as to business groups like the Irish Small and Medium Employers, ISME, the Family Business Network Ireland and the Small Firms Association, about how the process can be simplified and shortened. We also welcome the commitment given by the Government to establish a new grant for businesses using liquefied petroleum gas, LPG, or kerosene. I am sure that there is room for this in the €1.2 billion allocated for TBESS. Can I confirm that the money for the grant, the scheme or whatever it is that the Minister has just alluded to is coming from the €1.2 billion? Sinn Féin has been calling for these improvements since the scheme went live. They will make a significant difference for many businesses around the State.

I will add that it is not only the TBESS which has struggled with take-up. The Ukraine enterprise crisis scheme was also announced in budget 2023. This €200 million scheme provides two streams of support: for viable manufacturing and internationally traded service companies with liquidity needs due to the war in Ukraine, and for energy-intensive companies. Stream 1 of the scheme, which is aimed at addressing direct liquidity issues, offers aid of up to €500,000 in grants, repayable advances, and equity or loans, or both, to exporters who experience supply chain input cost increases due to the war in Ukraine. As of yesterday, €3.8 million has been issued under this stream to 14 companies. Stream 2 of the scheme is for energy-intensive businesses. It is aimed at providing a grant of up to €2 million for increased energy costs incurred between February and December 2022. As of yesterday, only one application has been returned for this scheme and no moneys have been issued as yet. Some €38 million of the €1.2 billion assigned to the TBESS has been issued. In the case of the Ukraine enterprise crisis scheme, we have €3.8 million of €200 million issued.

As I said, I welcome the changes made to the TBESS. Along with my colleagues in Sinn Féin, I have been calling for these changes for some time. It is to the credit of the Minister that he has listened and implemented these effective changes. They must be monitored to ensure they are working to make the scheme effective and attractive for struggling businesses. Again, I ask the Minister to look at the structural difficulties that businesses experience when applying for the scheme to see if this process can be shortened. Finally, I ask the Minister to assess the performance of the Ukraine enterprise crisis scheme and see if similar changes might be needed to make that scheme more attractive and effective.

Deputy Ged Nash

Many of us warned from the get-go that there were design difficulties with the TBESS. We did not believe that all of the businesses would end up drawing money down from it. Unfortunately and sadly, that has proven to be the case. I take no pleasure in saying that. Ultimately, the objectives of the scheme were to ensure businesses could continue to operate at an unprecedentedly difficult time and, fundamentally, to save jobs that might be at risk because of the increasing cost challenges placed on enterprise across the country. To be fair to the Minister and his officials, he has listened and has redesigned the scheme to make it more applicable, generally speaking, to the kinds of businesses which need the support we all know they require.

I have been speaking for some time about the threat that indigenous manufacturing businesses are under. We know the very significant cost consequences for them being intensive energy users, in respect of the increased energy costs over the past year to 18 months. I will give an example of a company which I have mentioned on the floor of the House before. To the credit of the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment and of Enterprise Ireland, in July and August of last year, when the company was under particular pressure, we were advised that this strand 2 scheme had been approved by the European Commission - this happened in August - and, to the best of my recollection, was directed at heavily intensive energy users. A company in my own constituency, Premier Periclase, shed 50 staff members in August. This is a manufacturing industry which has been located in Drogheda for a great number of years.

I have not seen the figures in respect of drawdown but I believe the figures for strand 2 were alluded to by Deputy O’Reilly. Can the Minister clarify whether, in fact, there has been a very limited drawdown and a limited number of applications under strand 2? That would be appreciated because hardly a week goes by when I am not contacted by someone from a manufacturing business in my own constituency, or elsewhere, who talks me through their energy bills and the difficulties they are having. They appear to be falling between a couple of stools. The TBESS, as it was constructed, was difficult to access and they may not have qualified for it. As Deputy O’Reilly correctly pointed out, it is quite cumbersome with regard to the administrative burden. Equally, these companies may not be of the scale to enable them to qualify for strand 2 supports. I would appreciate hearing the Minister’s response to that in his reply.

I did not have the opportunity to hear the earlier part of the Minister’s contribution. The inability of commercial landlords to access the TBESS has been raised consistently with me. It was raised with the Committee on Budgetary Oversight two weeks ago when IBEC presented there. The Minister will be familiar with the argument and with the situation that some businesses find themselves in. There may be three or four businesses operating from the same premises. They will be paying rent to the landlord. Due to the manner in which the TBESS is currently constructed, the landlord cannot access the support and this is causing some difficulties because the energy bills may be wrapped into the overall rent. Is it the case that landlords, on that basis and in that situation, would be in a position to apply for the redesigned TBESS?

Deputy Holly Cairns

The announcement of yesterday's cost-of-living package was an admission that the budget was not enough. Let us not forget that this budget was billed as a giveaway budget and yet it still failed to protect the most vulnerable in our society. Last September, the Social Democrats warned that the budget was not enough. It was not enough to provide sustainable relief to struggling households, to address the long-running crisis in health and housing or to lift people out of poverty. Yesterday, Deputy Shortall made it clear that this latest package would again fail to protect the most vulnerable in our society. Today, I would like to draw the attention of the House to the experience of businesses. When the Government announced the TBESS last September, the Social Democrats welcomed it in principle. Unlike the Covid-19 crisis, when wages needed to be supported, the current crisis necessitates the support of viable but vulnerable businesses in paying their energy bills. Those are businesses that without the energy crisis would not be in financial difficulty.

In respect of funding, this Government support scheme broadly mirrors the alternative budget proposal made by the Social Democrats. However, the execution has left much to be desired. The Department of Finance's figures speak for themselves. Over €1.25 billion has been provided to the TBESS, but just €17.5 million has been paid out so far. That is just unbelievable at a time when 69% of businesses are worried about energy costs, the third highest figure globally. That level of uptake is a damning indictment of the scheme. Clearly, the first iteration of this scheme was not fit for purpose. One would have to question seriously the level of stakeholder engagement carried out ahead of its launch. I would have thought that a party like Fine Gael, which prides itself on supporting businesses and has held the business brief since the Government was formed, would have come up with a more workable scheme. Nonetheless, I welcome the decision, albeit late in the day, to extend and amend the scheme in order to assist viable but vulnerable businesses.

However, there is still an issue that I would like to flag.

It has come to my attention that some businesses whose premises are located on business campuses cannot avail of the scheme. Where units in a wider campus all share one electricity meter, very often the bills are divided up by the landlord based on the unit size. In such cases, because businesses renting units share electricity supply, they cannot avail of the scheme. Will the Minister please ensure the scheme is amended to ensure that these businesses are not excluded from supports?

We must ensure that this energy crisis does not turn into a sustained job crisis. I hope the reduction in wholesale energy prices will soon be reflected in business energy bills but, in the meantime, we need a scheme that is fit for purpose, accessible and not so convoluted that people are not drawing down from it. We need a scheme that protects struggling small businesses but does not line the pockets of already profitable businesses.

Deputy Seán Canney

I welcome this enhanced scheme for businesses. It is important. I come from a constituency with a lot of small businesses and shops in rural towns and villages which use a lot of energy for freezers, lighting and all that goes with it. The people have been suffering. It is important that the scheme that is now being proposed will benefit these small businesses.

It is important that the scheme is fit for purpose and that it is made as simple and accessible as possible for everybody. I know that is the intention. I welcome that.

Are farmers included in the scheme? In my neck of the woods, many farmers are out in their sheds during lambing season. They have the lights on all night and use a lot of energy. I know for sure that sheep farmers are finding it hard to make a living at the moment, never mind paying the additional costs of turning up the lighting and caring for the sheep stock. I hope farmers are included in the scheme and that it is accessible to them. Without support for each sector, including farming, we would be leaving a certain section of business people out in the cold.

I know that anomalies arise with all schemes. We must build the scheme in such a way as to deal with the anomalies and include discretion with respect to the rules to allow us to include as many people as possible. There are people in estates who have shared landlord areas and who are contributing towards the landlord's supplies. We need to ensure those people are included in the recovery of costs. I know of cases where industrial estates that are privately owned include public lighting. There is a cost to keeping those lights lit at night, especially at this time of the year. It is important that anything that is being done is inclusive and that it ensures that the money that is now being expended gets to the people who need it most as quickly as possible. That is important. The scheme, as it was developed, was too complicated and cumbersome for many people. Getting access to it was complicated. The philosophy of this scheme should be that it will be simple, easily accessible and available to all businesses, whether commercial, industrial, farming or otherwise. If we do it right, we will protect the many jobs that are in existence at the moment. People who are in business are hanging on by a thread. That is the case for people who have pubs, restaurants, shops and post offices in local communities. It is important that we protect everybody and that nobody is excluded. That is the kernel of the supports that are being brought in this week. We must show that we support everybody. We want to protect the future prospects of our country so more can come into the coffers as a result of this scheme and others like it. This is not a cost to the State. It is an investment in our businesses, jobs, workers, and in our economy for the future. I will keep the situation monitored. I hope the scheme will do exactly as has been said by the Minister.

Deputy Danny Healy-Rae

We are thankful for the supports that have been given to many people. However, I must say that in the past number of hours, I have got a woeful lot of criticism from working-class people; those in the middle who are paying for all of this. As recently as ten minutes ago, a man was on to me about his ESB bill. He is a working person. His wife also has to work. They have big bills and a young family. He was pointing out that his bill has gone from €270 to €890. It has more than tripled. Working-class people are in a desperate way. Many people think and feel that ESB prices should have been capped and that we should have started there. While the Government is giving back money to some people, there are other people and businesses paying extraordinarily high bills for electricity. It is hurting many people. Some businesses have already closed and more will close. That has to be addressed, especially when these energy companies are making so much profit. The Government is also receiving more tax out of that situation.

Lorry, bus and car drivers are on the road because they have to go to work. They are paying enormous amounts for diesel and petrol, above and beyond what they used to pay and what they are able to pay. Their wages have not gone up in line with those increases in the cost of living for everyone.

Deputy Michael Healy-Rae

I am grateful to have a couple of minutes to talk on behalf of business people, particularly those in County Kerry, and the enormous cost and imposition that the increase in energy costs has put on them. I want to say this because it is important. At a time when wholesale gas and energy prices have come down to the levels they were at before the war, why in the name of God are we being told we will have to wait for 12 months for our energy prices to decrease and for those price drops to descend to us? It is absolutely ridiculous.

I would like for others, including the Minister, to listen to the following statistic. I have a small shop on the side of the road. I would like to think it is an example of other small businesses throughout Kerry and Ireland. My bill used to be €1,500 to €2,000 for every 62 to 63 days. The last bill was €12,380. That is absolutely unsustainable. That is an increase of more than €10,000 over 63 days. That sort of money is not in a business like that. The model cannot continue. Businesses thought the support scheme was going to be a lifeline to help them an awful lot but whatever way it was working out, it was not.

Deputy Michael Collins

We welcome the changes to the TBESS. However, it is difficult for businesses to go through the whole process of applying for it. That is what many business owners are telling me. My colleague, Deputy Michael Healy-Rae, spoke about the energy costs for businesses. It is shocking and it has to be tackled by the Government. Wherever I go, whether to a café or a local shop, I am told by business owners that their bills have gone from €1,000, €2,000 or €3,000 last year to €10,000, €11,000, €12,000, €13,000 or €14,000 this year. That is not going to continue. They are not going to continue in business.

I heard a man from west Cork on the radio station C103 recently. He said that he can take the hit this time because he can pay the bills from the profits he made last year but how is he going to pay the next bill? His next electricity bill is going to be more than €13,000. The same situation applies to many members of the public.

Unfortunately, the situation in my own constituency is that more and more places, whether they are in Clonakilty, Drimoleague, Dunmanway or Schull, are closed on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday and are only open on Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Some are not even open on Thursday because they cannot afford to open the door. There is something wrong somewhere. We have to tackle the energy crisis and the companies have to be taken to task by the Government. We cannot keep trying to provide grant aid or give some bit of money to people like that. The Government must tackle the problem at its source, which is the energy companies. They need to be brought before the Dáil and held accountable by the Dáil and by the Government but that is not happening at this present time.

Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice

Deputy O'Donoghue can have two and a half minutes of my time.

Deputy Richard O'Donoghue

I thank the Deputy. Businesses that are trying to stay open have been fighting through Covid and through the warehousing of tax. What they were warehousing for tax is the money they were using, with the subsidies, to keep the doors open because of excessive prices. In his statement, the Minister stated that those who avail of this scheme have to be tax-compliant. What is going to happen if Revenue pulls in the warehoused tax from those people? They have used this to keep people employed and keep businesses open in an area. What is going to happen to those businesses that used that warehoused tax to keep the doors opened? That is what the Minister must look at. It is one thing to bring in a scheme but they have already used this to keep the doors open for the circular economy within our areas. Has the Minister got an answer for those people? Is he going to tell us that this warehoused tax is not going to come back into play, that those businesses do not have to worry about it and that they will be able to survive and keep their businesses going in our communities?

Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice

I think I have more time than what is displayed on the clock.

An Cathaoirleach Gníomhach (Deputy Marc Ó Cathasaigh)

Yes, I can give the Deputy five minutes-----

Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice

Does anyone else want to speak? Is Deputy Nolan okay?

Deputy Carol Nolan

Does Deputy Fitzmaurice mind if I take one minute?

Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice

The Acting Chair can give Deputy Nolan a minute if he can.

An Cathaoirleach Gníomhach (Deputy Marc Ó Cathasaigh)

I am afraid I cannot share out time with Deputy Nolan-----

Deputy Carol Nolan

Why not? That normally happens in here. Is there any particular reason?

An Cathaoirleach Gníomhach (Deputy Marc Ó Cathasaigh)

There have been Government Deputies who were not given time on this as well-----

Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice

I will stop at four minutes if the Acting Chairman wants to give Deputy Nolan the minute.

I welcome this announcement but one thing I would say is there have been a few announcements on different energy schemes in the last six or eight months, some of which involve Enterprise Ireland. Is that correct? It is through Enterprise Ireland that businesses can look for the rebates back or where they fill in the forms. What we are hearing back from businesses is that Revenue is making it ferociously difficult for businesses in rural areas. This is not coming from just one company but from a lot of different companies. They are saying that something is announced but it is like trying to climb the reek if you are not able, you cannot get it back. Revenue needs to work with these people.

I spoke to a business person today employing 130 people who was just so frustrated. I might bring the case to the Minister if he is willing to look at it. This person was so frustrated because they were told not to submit their application yet. If there is money out there and a business is haemorrhaging cash or its ESB bills are going up substantially, it must be able to get the help it needs, especially when it is employing that number of people in a rural area. I spoke to a person who makes machinery in Mayo, whose accountant said that the scheme is highly cumbersome. We need to streamline it and make it as workable as possible to help businesses.

I welcome the announcement that money will be going back to people but the one thing I would say is that those in middle Ireland who are paying the taxes are struggling at the moment and we need to not forget them. I ask the Minister to make sure to address problems with the scheme. Everything I am hearing from people who are in business all of their lives suggests that there seems to be a roadblock when they go to look for this money. In some cases, they are being told not to submit an application yet because the scheme is not ready. There is no point in announcing something if it is not ready to do. What was said to me is there seems to be a stumbling block in the way of getting the money out to people and I would like the Minister or his officials to address that.

The Acting Chairman can give the rest of my time to someone else.

An Cathaoirleach Gníomhach (Deputy Marc Ó Cathasaigh)

I am afraid I am not prepared to reorder the debate in that way. The business was ordered by the House.

Deputy Carol Nolan

Oh for God's sake, it is only a small accommodation-----

An Cathaoirleach Gníomhach (Deputy Marc Ó Cathasaigh)

The speaking time allotted for Members-----

Deputy Carol Nolan

-----and it has been done in this Chamber before.

An Cathaoirleach Gníomhach (Deputy Marc Ó Cathasaigh)

The speaking time allotted for the members of the Rural Independent Group has already been exceeded.

Deputy Carol Nolan

That is not fair.

An Cathaoirleach Gníomhach (Deputy Marc Ó Cathasaigh)

It is entirely fair. There were Government Deputies-----

Deputy Carol Nolan

That is not fair because I have seen other people accommodated in here.

An Cathaoirleach Gníomhach (Deputy Marc Ó Cathasaigh)

-----who were treated in the same way.

Deputy Carol Nolan

That is not fair.

An Cathaoirleach Gníomhach (Deputy Marc Ó Cathasaigh)

They did not have the facility to speak-----

Deputy Carol Nolan

That is out of order.

An Cathaoirleach Gníomhach (Deputy Marc Ó Cathasaigh)

It is not out of order.

Deputy Carol Nolan

It absolutely is.

An Cathaoirleach Gníomhach (Deputy Marc Ó Cathasaigh)

I am returning to the Minister to close the debate.

Deputy Carol Nolan

You are an absolute disgrace. So much for democracy.

An Cathaoirleach Gníomhach (Deputy Marc Ó Cathasaigh)

Indeed.

Deputy Carol Nolan

You could learn a bit

Minister for Finance (Deputy Michael McGrath)

I thank all of my colleagues for their contributions. I have taken note of a number of the points that have been made. I wish to clarify a few points in terms of the effect of the resolutions that are before us tonight, which we can do under the existing Act and the changes that can only be brought about by way of new legislation in the House, which will be introduced shortly by means of a Finance Bill.

The resolutions before us tonight mean that we can now extend the scheme to the end of April but it will require legislation to extend it to the end of May, which is what I intend to do, as well as providing the potential within the Bill to extend it for a further two months should the Government decide to do so. What we can do by way of the resolution tonight is increase the monthly cash cap from €10,000 to €15,000 for a business with a single premises and from €30,000 to €45,00 for a business with multiple premises. That will be on a prospective basis from 1 March.

It will require legislation to implement the other changes that we announced as the Government yesterday. First, the energy cost threshold, or the eligibility rule which is currently that a business must have had a 50% increase in the average per unit cost relative to the reference period, is being reduced to 30%. Once we have that change enacted, it can be applied retrospectively to 1 September. What that means is that businesses whose energy costs went up, in terms of the per unit average price, in September, October and November 2022 relative to the same months in 2021 by 40% for example and which are currently excluded from the scheme will qualify. Moreover, they will be able to go all the way back in their claim to 1 September. I propose that we will do that under the new legislation. The other area is the level of relief. The percentage of the increase that a business gets under the TBESS will go from 40% to 50% and again, that can only be done on a prospective basis. That is the advice I have received in relation to that.

I will now turn to a few of the specific questions that were put. Deputy O'Reilly asked about the source of the funding for the grant scheme that the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment will introduce for oil and LPG. That will come out of the TBESS Vote within the aforementioned Department's overall budget. Deputy Canney posed a question in relation to farmers. Farmers are eligible for payments under the TBESS in the same way as any other business that is carrying on a trade which is taxable under Case 1 of Schedule D, where they meet all of the eligibility criteria. The eligibility criteria will apply in the normal way. Perhaps the issue raised with Deputy Canney relates to cases where the bill partly relates to the domestic premises and partly to the farming business. An apportionment has to be done in relation to that. Any amount charged on an energy bill for a claim period that is not expended wholly and exclusively for the purposes of the farming trade must be deducted from the relevant energy bill amount for the claim period for the purpose of calculating the eligible costs. That is a term of the scheme that one would expect to see.

Deputy Fitzmaurice raised a particular case and I ask him to bring the details to my attention later. He said that a business was told not to submit an application yet and I will certainly have a look at that. Deputy Nash raised an issue relating to landlords and cases where the energy account is not in the name of the business. It is a condition of the scheme under the existing legislation that a business that does not hold an energy account and therefore does not receive bills directly from the energy supplier will not be able to make a claim for payment under the TBESS because it does not meet the qualifying criteria. That is the position in relation to the legislation currently in place.

Deputy O'Donoghue raised a question about the interaction with debt warehousing. Businesses availing of tax warehousing can claim TBESS and are considered tax-compliant. There is no offset in relation to the TBESS payment and the tax that has been warehoused. There is an offset in respect of current liability but not in respect of tax liability that has been warehoused under the Revenue scheme.

I would very much appreciate the support of the House for the passage of these Resolutions which will allow us to take an important step to significantly improving the scheme for the businesses that I think we all recognise do need the extra help.

Question put and agreed to.