Up to €400 million has been paid out this year under the Government’s two main grant schemes for small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs), according to Minister for Enterprise Peter Burke.
The Power Up Grant and the Increased Cost of Business (ICOB) scheme were set up to help domestic firms with the rising price of doing business.
SME operating costs have been amplified by the energy price shock and rising input costs generally, but also by increases to the minimum wage and changes to sick pay regulations.
Retail and hospitality businesses had campaigned for a cut to the 13.5 per cent VAT rate in the recent budget.
The Power Up Grant, announced as part of Budget 2025, closed for applications on November 22nd and has now paid out over €154 million to 38,500 businesses over the last four weeks.
The ICOB scheme paid €244 million during the summer to over 75,000 businesses, including a double payment for businesses in the retail, hospitality and beauty sectors.
Mr Burke said the schemes had been hugely successful, benefiting “thousands of small, family-run businesses”.
“This shows that Government is listening to business and is very aware of the difficulties being faced by business owners,” he said.
Mr Burke, who was elevated from the junior ministerial ranks in the wake of Simon Harris becoming Taoiseach, pushed for a reduced rate of VAT for hospitality during the budget negotiations but the Coalition decided against it.
Minister of State for business, employment and retail, Emer Higgins said: “I know the challenges that businesses continue to face and that is why the department has focused on getting payments to businesses as quickly as possible.”
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