Minister for Finance Michael McGrath has said that thousands of businesses that have registered for the Temporary Business Energy Support Scheme (TBESS) will receive their first payments on Thursday 22 December.

The scheme, which was announced in Budget 2023 and covers up to 40% of increase in energy costs up to a monthly cap of €10,000 for eligible businesses, is administered by the Revenue.

McGrath appealed for businesses that qualify for the scheme to register with the Revenue and submit claims.

"We believe that there are many many more businesses out there who qualify for this scheme and the overall message I want to convey is that this is a scheme that is there to help businesses," McGrath said.

"It is designed to protect jobs, to help them with the energy bills they are facing," he added. "We want them to engage with their professional advisors, to register with the Revenue, to submit the claims and we want to pay out this money to the businesses that need it most."

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The Fianna Fáil TD said that of the €4bn in one-off measures, announced in the budget, there are still some to be implemented, and that inflation was having a disproportionate effect on the poor.

"When they looked at the distributional impact of all of the measures we introduced, the greatest benefit was provided to those that needed the most, but of course we have to keep all of this under review. We don't know what will happen for sure in terms of inflation and the war in Ukraine," he said.

McGrath, who was appointed finance minister as part of the cabinet reshuffle that saw Leo Varadkar return as Taoiseach at the weekend, told RTE radio he is aware of the responsibility he faces in managing the nation's finances.

"I want to assure people I will give it my all and do everything I possibly can to perform to the best of my ability," he stated.

Photo: Michael McGrath. (Pic: Sam Boal /Rollingnews.ie)