Of the 1,587 farmers who have applied so far for the Temporary Business Energy Support Scheme (TBESS), 714 were accepted.

The total amount paid out to farmers came to €610,000 to date.

The majority of applications were from farms with between one and nine employees - there were 356 in this category.

Another 266 applications were accepted from farmers who are farming on their own with no employees.

Those with between 10 and 40 employees accounted for 79 of the approved applications, while those with over 50 employed made up 13.

Dublin saw the largest number of registrations at 44%, while Leitrim had just 1.7% and the largest sector to benefit was the retail trade claiming €6.65m. Some 3,876 claims have been accepted from this sector.

Energy costs

As energy use on many farms increases during the winter months, last year the Government introduced the €1.3bn temporary scheme to tackle the higher bills experienced last year.

Energy prices more than doubled for most in 2022 and this severely affected the profitability of farming enterprises.

The scheme allows eligible farmers and businesses to get money back on their gas and electricity bills from the winter period.

How to claim

Farmers can still claim for the increased energy costs of 2022. However, time is of the essence.

January 31 2023 was the last day to make a claim for September 2022, but you can still apply for the remaining months.

To find out how, see here.