Barry Ward (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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11. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if his attention has been drawn to cases whereby businesses that qualify for the increased cost of business grant and power up grant were misclassified in the wrong category; if an appeals system has been established to ensure they can draw this funding down; if this appeal system has been communicated to all local authorities; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21733/25]

Noel McCarthy (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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16. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if his Department is considering the reintroduction of the increased cost of business and power up grant schemes for small business rate payers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21610/25]

Séamus McGrath (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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20. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment to outline the number of applicants for the power up grant who were disqualified because they did not indicate an eligible category of business; the number of applicants that appealed the disqualification decision in total; the number that appealed on the basis of mistakenly indicating the incorrect business category; and if he is still reviewing these appeals and when will they be finally addressed. [20773/25]

Colm Burke (Cork North-Central, Fine Gael)
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24. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment for an update regarding the implementation of an appeals system for the power up scheme; when it is likely that businesses will be able to lodge appeals; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21730/25]

Barry Ward (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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I wish to first acknowledge the huge supports the Government has put in place for businesses to deal with the increase the cost of doing business, energy and other factors.

I have been contacted by several businesses that have been miscategorised for these grants and, as such, have been denied grants they could have otherwise got. Is the Minister aware of this and if so, is there a proper appeals mechanism in place to allow them to appeal against any decision that has been wrongfully made?

Alan Dillon (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 11, 16, 20 and 24 together.

I thank the Deputy for submitting his question. It is probably the most topical one on the Question Paper. The increased cost of business scheme was introduced back in March 2024 and the power up grant was introduced in October of the same year. Both schemes are now closed but, in total, more than €400 million in grant aid was successfully paid to SMEs right across the country in 2024 under these grants. The schemes were designed by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment and administered by local authorities with the aim of helping businesses with the increased costs associated with running a business.

The power up grant was announced as part of budget 2025 and paid out €158 million in grants to over 39,000 businesses. The increased cost of business scheme made €242 million in grant payments to over 75,000 businesses, including a double payment for businesses in the retail, hospitality and beauty sectors. This is a significant direct support that has been specifically targeted at SMEs and has benefitted thousands of small and family-run businesses. I again thank local authorities all over the country for their hard work in administering both schemes and getting this vital support to businesses in a most effective and timely manner.

Following the launch of power up, the Department and local authorities around the country received a substantial amount of correspondence from businesses that could not avail of the power up grant. The most common issue raised was from businesses who believed they were in the hospitality, retail or beauty sectors, but incorrectly categorised themselves during the ICOB registration process, which was the basis for the power up grant. The number of applicants that were deemed ineligible due to misclassification is not yet clear. In order to get money to businesses before the end of 2024, the power up grant was aligned with the ICOB grant. Therefore, priority was to get power up funding to businesses that had been approved for the second ICOB grant. The extent of the issue of incorrect classifications only emerged after the power up grant was launched.

Businesses that had not classified themselves as operating in the hospitality, retail or beauty sectors were ineligible for the second ICOB and power up grants. This is because one of the main criteria for the power up grant was that a business must have received the second ICOB payment. While delivery of the power up grant was concluding, the Department began a review which involved detailed engagement with local authorities to assess the issue. The Department also engaged with the Department of public expenditure in order to set out the proposed solution. In order to address this, this week the Government approved an appeals process that will give those businesses in the retail, hospitality and beauty sectors that were not eligible for ICOB and the power up grant because of the misclassification issue, an opportunity to register for those grants. This is not a reopening of those grant schemes, rather it is designed to allow those who originally misclassified their business sector an opportunity to register for the grants.

The Department will now engage with the Department of public expenditure, infrastructure, public service reform and digitalisation and with the local authorities to agree on the details of the reclassification process. Subject to agreement with the local authorities, it is intended to open the appeals process as soon as possible and engage with local authorities to ensure eligible businesses have been informed with the necessary steps to reapply. Both businesses and local authorities will be given guidance to assist in this process. Once potentially eligible businesses have been notified and the reclassification process opens, I expect grant payments will be paid to businesses where their information is submitted and has been reviewed and verified.

Barry Ward (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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I am very pleased to hear the Government has approved that appeal process. It is obviously very important. The kind of businesses denied these facilities are quite vulnerable. They are small businesses that need these supports, so I welcome that. I note it was promised some time ago, so when the Minister of State says it will be available soon, how soon might that be and could significant pressure be put on to make that happen?

Can the Minister of State also confirm that in circumstances where schemes are closed and businesses have been denied grants, if they are granted a successful appeal, that they will not be denied in any way the full grant they would have received had that mistake not been made? I also acknowledge, as the Minister of State has, the work of local authorities in this regard. Mistakes happen - I am not criticising that fact - but we must have fair procedures that mean when a mistake happens, a business is not left in a vulnerable position and that it is entitled to appeal and get the money it should have got in the first place.

Noel McCarthy (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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10 o’clock

Is the Department considering the reintroduction of the increased cost of business and power up grant schemes for small businesses and ratepayers, and will he make a statement on the matter?

Séamus McGrath (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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Will the Minister of State outline the number of applicants for the power up grant who were disqualified because they did not indicate an eligible category of business, the number of applicants that appealed the disqualification decision in total, the number that appealed on the basis of mistakenly indicating the incorrect business category, whether the matter is still being reviewed and whether there will be an appeals mechanism?

Alan Dillon (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Regarding the Deputies' supplementary questions, we can go back and forth. To answer Deputy Ward's questions on the steps that are now required, it was important that the Government this week approved the appeals process. We will now engage with the local authorities to map out the extent of those businesses that were eligible for ICOB 1 and, therefore, applied for ICOB 2 but were unsuccessful. ICOB 2 is the important one, as those who are eligible for ICOB 2 also get the power up grant. We obtained legal advice on those, not just on getting the power up grant, but also getting ICOB 2. It is important to emphasise that.

Regarding the number of those who were misclassified, the determination during the implementation of the original system was that the classification of sector, be it retail, hospitality or beauty, was insignificant when they applied initially. However, it became apparent that, when applying for ICOB 2, having the correct classification was critical in order to get both. When we implemented the power up grant in October 2024, it was on the basis that the applicant had previously been in receipt of ICOB 2. That is where the challenge is. We are scoping out the matter. While there is not a clear determination on the number, it is in the region of 6,000 businesses. We are engaging with the Department of public expenditure on the overall cost that will be involved, which is potentially in the region of €40 million. That still has to be determined.

On the timeline, we want to see this done as swiftly as possible, preferably before the end of the year. We will be directed in that engagement from local authorities with businesses that applied for ICOB 1.

Barry Ward (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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I acknowledge what the Government has done. These supports are important. We are talking about small businesses that employ an enormous number of people throughout the country but are not massively profitable and, therefore, are vulnerable when these grants are not given to them. The grants are important to ensure their viability.

Will the Minister of State do two things in particular? I acknowledge what he said about the appeal process coming along and we have spoken about this before. I welcome that. It is timely, and the more timely it is, the better. I hear what the Minister of State has said about the timeline, but if we could speed that up and have it in place by the autumn for businesses, it would make a considerable difference to local economies around the country. These businesses are the lifeblood of our economy. They need our support. The Government wants to support them, but I would like to see them getting what they are entitled to sooner rather than later.

If there is a circumstance where a business got ICOB 1 and was denied ICOB 2 or did not get ICOB 1 and, therefore, was not entitled to ICOB 2, that needs to be rectified. We cannot leave any business in the lurch because of a simple clerical error that was made at local level. Let us try to fix this.

Noel McCarthy (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister of State for his response. I would also like to thank him and his departmental staff for the significant amount of work that has been put into the development and roll-out of the increased cost of business grant and the power up grant scheme. It is fair to say that these schemes were an enormous success and were greatly appreciated by eligible business owners. In fact, it is because of their success that I ask that a reintroduction be further explored.

Séamus McGrath (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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I welcome the Minister's announcement this morning on the appeals mechanism that is being worked through. As outlined by the other Deputies, this will give hope to some businesses that for some reason were categorised incorrectly in their applications for the power up grant. To make a brief wider point, the alignment with the ICOB grant has presented difficulties for many businesses. This is going back to the 2023 rate payment. There are many businesses that entered into business since that time, so they have not received any support.

Another point is that, in the case of many businesses, their landlords pay the rates on their behalf and the businesses pay an amount to their landlords that includes rent and rates. Unfortunately, those businesses did not qualify for any grant, neither the ICOB nor the power up grant. The alignment with the ICOB grant has continued that problem for many businesses. I am not sure if there is scope in the appeals mechanism to look at the issue now, but can it be examined for future grants? Many businesses are doing their best creating employment but are not eligible on that basis.

Aidan Farrelly (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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We have a supplementary question from Deputy Conway-Walsh.

Rose Conway-Walsh (Mayo, Sinn Fein)
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I am glad that the Department is seeing sense with this because it obviously needed to be addressed. We have been doing grants for long enough and should not be in a situation where these anomalies arise. It concerns me that the Minister of State says he is engaging with the Department of public expenditure, as that can take a long time. I heard it mentioned that we would have the appeals process by autumn but it needs to be much sooner than that. I would contrast this situation with that of businesses that are trying to deal with Revenue, in that there is an inflexibility, particularly where there has been an accumulation of what is owed to Revenue. There needs to be flexibility for businesses, particularly those caught in this trap. It is significant that businesses that are no longer in operation be considered as well.

This matter needs to be addressed as a matter of urgency. I am glad there has been a rowing back on it. It should not have happened in the first place. We recognise that businesses are struggling as it is. The turnaround needs to be immediate.

Alan Dillon (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputies for their contributions as regards the announcement this morning.

Regarding the scheme and Deputy McGrath's point, the scheme was not perfect. There is an acknowledgement that it was reflective of the 2023 rates. Many businesses had to engage with local authorities about up-to-date rates and a rates repayment plan to bring them up to speed. We want to enhance potential further schemes down the road and ensure that the learnings from this process are implemented in them. However, we know the importance of the cash injection that many businesses received to deal with labour costs and energy costs over the past 12 months, which have been significant for their viability.

On the process, the Minister, Deputy Peter Burke, and I are determined to ensure that we have an accelerated and ambitious programme in terms of trying to get this done. The local authorities will engage with many businesses that were ineligible for ICOB 2. More than 75,000 businesses were in receipt of the first payment. They need to be engaged with to see who did not qualify and what sectors specifically did not qualify for ICOB 2. We want this to come to a conclusion and to ensure that these learnings are implemented in any future schemes.

Aidan Farrelly (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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Before we move on, I will briefly welcome a group of fifth year students to the Public Gallery. They are peer mentors from Enfield Community College in Enfield, County Meath. They are doing incredible work. We can see them up there and we look forward to seeing some of them down here in the coming years. I congratulate them and thank their principal, Shane, and teacher, Gráinne, for doing that. You are all very welcome this morning.