I am raising once again the savage impact of soaring energy costs on businesses. A family-owned supermarket in a small town in County Tipperary that employs 50 people has seen its energy bill rise from €7,500 per month to €18,900 per month, an increase of 152%. That is savage by any measure. Even with the welcome scheme the Government has announced, the temporary business energy support scheme, TBESS, the bills will still be €7,000 per month more than they were. Small businesses cannot carry this cost. Jobs and family businesses that have been in place for decades will disappear. Dozens of businesses throughout the country have been on to me.

The Minister mentioned "gangbusters" or something in reply to Deputy Michael Healy-Rae. Why will the Minister not tackle the ESB and energy companies with his gangbusters and do something for the people providing employment and services and who have been looking after people all their lives, which is what they want to do? They cannot survive.

We did. That is why we devised the TBESS. It has not been introduced yet but we agreed to it in the budget process. It will be set out and introduced shortly. It provides significant support for businesses. Our objective is clear, namely to get businesses through this period in the same way as householders. The €1.2 billion provision for that is real and will be delivered. As we did during the Covid pandemic – it is a similar experience in many ways – we will not be shy in making sure businesses get support.