Mattie McGrath (Tipperary South, Independent)
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Ar an gcéad dul síos, gabhaim buíochas leis an gCeann Comhairle, an Teachta Ní Mhurchú.

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for choosing this Topical Issue this morning. The power up grant was introduced following budget 2025 as an apparent replacement for the Government's refusal to reduce VAT rates. However, the criteria the Department laid down to local authorities for this grant have proven unworkable and unfair and leave many businesses locked out of the scheme. It is ironic that this scheme is called power up when so many businesses are struggling to keep their power on, pardon the pun. I congratulate the Minister of State, Deputy Dillon, on his appointment. I hope he will change this.

Simple issues like the classification of businesses at application stage should have been changed by now. The first roll-out of this grant scheme was known as the increased cost of business, ICOB, grant. When issues arose with that, they should have been addressed by the Department before the second scheme. Now, the power up scheme has been rolled out. Why will the Department not simplify these schemes? They are rolled out with a big fanfare - they are welcome, and I welcome them - but they need to be accessed by businesspeople who are struggling, many of whom are locked out of them. For example, some post offices in my constituency got three rounds of cost of business support grants while others have been excluded purely because of misleading information on the application forms. The Department has not reopened the portal to allow businesses to reclassify their business correctly and avail of the grants. That is unfair to the people who are locked out just because of a name or a criterion.

Another issue in cases with which I have engaged are instances where a business pays its rates to the business property owner. That property owner in turn pays rates to the county council, as is correct, but there is no way for the person renting the businesses, who pays their rent and rates, to access the grant. That is totally unfair. The developer does not need it because he gets his rates anyway but the businessman is struggling to keep the doors open. He pays his rates to the property owner; sometimes there might be joint tenants in different parts of the building, so it is common. Surely, that must be tweaked to allow those people to get access to the scheme. A plethora of businesses, such as launderettes, hair and beauty salons, post offices, filling stations and small hotels, are disallowed completely. These are just some examples of the businesses in my constituency that have been in touch with me about the scheme. It is not fair either to the good officials on Tipperary County Council and councils across the country who are trying to manage this scheme. They deal with frustrated business owners who are struggling to keep the lights on and the doors open, pay wages, VAT, tax and insurance and also pay rent to landlords. They are upset and annoyed, and often their disappointment and frustration can be taken out on the officials in question. It is unfair across the board.

The Minister, Deputy Burke, said before the election that this scheme would have to be reviewed and that it would be up to the new Government to review it. The ball is in the Minister or State's court now. I know he has an understanding of this issue. I have worked with him in the past. It needs to be simplified and made fair and accessible for all types of businesses. It must not be a case of one post office, shop or hotel getting access to the scheme and others being excluded. That is discriminatory and unfair. It beggars belief that in three roll-outs of this scheme, the Department has not corrected the anomalies or made an effort to ensure fairness, transparency and honesty for ordinary, hard-pressed businesspeople.

Alan Dillon (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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I thank Deputy McGrath for raising the important issue. I know how important SMEs and small businesses are in his constituency in County Tipperary. I fully recognise the cost pressures SMEs are facing and the impact this is having on their ability to keep their doors open. As the Deputy stated, the programme for Government contains several important commitments, including with regard to VAT reductions and adjustments to PRSI, in respect of improving the business environment to make matters easier for Ireland’s hardworking business owners.

Last year, the Government introduced two business support schemes that were designed by the Department and administered by local authorities. The increased cost of business scheme was launched in March 2024 and was delivered in two phases. The first phase was a broad scheme that distributed €154 million to 75,000 SMEs in all sectors of the economy in recognition of the higher cost of doing businesses. The second phase was targeted specifically at businesses operating in the sectors most impacted by increasing costs such as energy, which were mainly retail, hospitality and beauty businesses. Almost 39,000 SMEs in those sectors received a second ICOB payment, and a total of €90 million was paid out through this second phase of ICOB in 2024. As part of budget 2025, which was introduced in October, and in recognition of high energy costs, the Department introduced the power up grant, which was again delivered by the local authorities. Under this scheme, almost 39,000 SMEs in the retail and hospitality sectors received a flat grant of €4,000 in the final months of the year. In total, more than €158 million has been paid out through the power up grant. Taken together, these grant schemes paid out more than €400 million in a very short space of time.

I express my appreciation to all workers in local authorities for getting these important grant supports out to businesses so quickly. A business must have received the second phase of the ICOB to be eligible for the power up grant. This was to ensure businesses were able to get payments as quickly as possible. The Department is aware of the issue the Deputy raised in the power up registration process where businesses were ineligible for the grant due to incorrect classifications. The Department is actively working on this issue with businesses in relation to registration during the ICOB process. It is reviewing the issues. I will take the specific points raised around post offices into consideration in the next steps in the consultation.

We are engaging with the Department of public expenditure and reform and local authorities on this in order to arrive at a swift resolution.

Mattie McGrath (Tipperary South, Independent)
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I welcome the positive response from the Minister of State, but it needs to be dealt with. It is simply unfair that, for instance, the post office in Clonmel is getting the grant, while those in Fethard, Ballingarry or Killenaule are not. Small businesses in Ardfinnan and Clogheen might be getting it while those in Caisleán Nua, Ballyporeen and Cahir are not. I welcome the amount of money involved and the number of businesses that got the grant, but there is little solace for those who have been locked out of the scheme. The power up grant is a turn-off for those people. They are trying their best to access it. They are dealing with the county council. I again thank the officials who are helpful to them.

People's frustration is palpable. They have been locked out because of a reclassification and incorrect criteria in the first instance. They did what they were asked to do. Across the board, this should be clear-cut. I wonder whether some of these schemes are designed to ensure that we hold on to the money. Obviously, the pot of money is not big enough and we make it more difficult for people. Businesspeople are at their wits' end trying to do the books, keep their places safe and clean, meet health and safety and other regulations, pay wages, PRSI, VAT and insurance and meet the rising costs.

These schemes only tinker around with the costs involved. The real problem is that the Government is not tackling the ESB or the energy companies. We have the second highest energy prices in Europe. That is unbelievable. We know the difficulties with the ESB, and I compliment everyone on their sterling work to get power back on for people. The CEO of the company has stated that it might increase prices. This is another body blow to the businesses to which I refer. The ESB cannot be allowed to increase prices. It has insurance to cover its costs. It also has massive profits, which we have seen over the past decade. It has made gigantic profits. Business owners must have a fair and palatable scheme that is easily accessible. They are busy people. Many times they make these applications at night or when they are supposed to be having downtime with their families. They are trying to keep the doors open ag obair go han-chrua ar fad. It is very difficult for them to get onto these schemes. Some of them just give up and instead of being a power up grant, it is a complete turn-off.

Alan Dillon (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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I thank Deputy McGrath for raising this important issue and for his contribution here today. I reiterate and fully appreciate the important role Irish SMEs play, and their contribution to towns and villages throughout the country. I recognise the increased pressure of doing business. I would point to the speed at which this power up grant was delivered, with more than €150 million distributed through the local authorities in a two-month period. It has been of enormous benefit, with the flat rate of €4,000 representing an enormous cash injection for many of these businesses that desperately need it. It does alleviate some of the pressure, although not all of it. We paid out more than €400 million in 2024 to the businesses most affected. I take on board the issues Deputy McGrath raised in respect of the registration period for the power up grant. As I said earlier, businesses were unable to amend a mischaracterisation of their sector, and this needs to be rectified. I will review this in consideration with Deputy McGrath.