Employment Rights
Dail Éireann — 2022-09-15
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Louise O'Reilly (SF), Dublin Fingal

When the provision of this money is eventually announced, the Government should not give it to companies also that are viable. There was an issue during the pandemic when companies were on the one hand in receipt of State aid and on the other hand paying massive dividends to their shareholders, and that is not acceptable.
The Tánaiste referred to the need for businesses to reduce their energy costs. I am aware of a hotel which used to have a monthly energy bill of €21,000. That has now risen to €71,000. You can bet your bottom dollar that the people in that hotel are doing everything they can. Growers in north County Dublin have no choice but to use gas to keep their tunnels warm. They are doing everything they can to cut their energy use but they are energy-intensive companies and are worried their businesses will fail. What they want to hear from the Tánaiste is that the money will be directed directly to them, that viable businesses will be kept afloat and that money will not be funnelled into businesses that will come through this unscathed.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2022-09-15/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:51:02+00:00
Sitting date: 2022-09-15