Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

We hope we will be able to support many of those kinds of companies in moving to new digital platforms and new online sales processes. These are the kinds of things for which we can potentially give grant aid. In the latest round of the online retail scheme, 98 retailers received €2.3 million in funding, with 79% of successful applicant companies based outside of Dublin. There are schemes available but we have to be careful about looking for local enterprise offices to give grant aid to businesses that are competing with other businesses locally. If you give grant aid to one local manufacturing facility to upgrade, you have to give it to everybody. Otherwise, you generate unfair competition through the use of State supports. We are trying to do strategic things such as helping companies to reduce their energy bills through decarbonisation or to become more efficient through the use of new digital platforms. We have to be careful not to give unfair competitive advantage to one local business over another local business by giving grant aid to one and not the other. There are some restrictions but I assure the Deputy that there are plenty of ways in which local enterprise offices can support local businesses of all types.

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