Rose Conway-Walsh (Mayo, Sinn Fein)
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196. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the supports available for new businesses starting up; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17101/21]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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The 31 Local Enterprise Offices nationwide are a ‘first-stop-shop’ for providing advice and guidance, financial assistance, and other supports to those wishing to start or grow their own business. The LEOs also offer an extensive suite of training programmes, workshops and networking meetups, which have been moved to online platforms in response to the current health crisis. The LEOs act as a ‘signposting’ service for all relevant government supports available to the SME sector and can provide information/referrals to other bodies under agreed protocols such as Revenue, Micro Finance Ireland, Fáilte Ireland, LEADER, and Enterprise Ireland.

The LEOs offer direct grant aid to microenterprises (up to 10 employees) in the manufacturing and internationally traded services sector. Start-up businesses that have not begun trading may avail of LEO feasibility grant, priming grant and all ancillary support including training, management development and mentoring subject to meeting the eligibility criteria.

Feasibility grants link to the pre-start-up phase and their purpose is to help start-up companies or individual entrepreneurs with the cost of researching their proposed business or new business idea to determine whether it could be viable and sustainable.

Priming grants for businesses trading less than 18 months aim to help them get the business with the associated costs of start-up. The maximum priming grant payable is 50% of the investment or €150,000 – whichever is less. Only enterprises that clearly demonstrate a potential to graduate to Enterprise Ireland can be awarded grants of this size. In all other cases, the maximum grant is 50% of the investment or €80,000 – whichever is the lesser.

However, the Local Enterprise Offices do not provide direct grant-aid to areas such as retail, personal services, local professional services or construction/local building services, as it may give rise to the displacement of existing businesses.

Businesses which have been trading for at least 6 months may also be applicable for the Trading Online Voucher Scheme (TOVs), which offers a 50% co-funded voucher of up to €2,500 (maximum value of €5,000 when 50% co- funded by the applicant) to help businesses develop their online trading capability and includes training sessions that cover various topics, such as developing a website, digital marketing, social media for business and search engine optimisation. Funding can also be used towards adding payment facilities or booking systems to a business's website or developing new apps for customers. The voucher can also be used towards subscriptions to low cost online retail platform solutions to help companies quickly establish a retailing presence online.

The Local Enterprise Offices can also assist clients with applications to Microfinance Ireland for small business loans of between €2,000 and €25,000 (unsecured). Loans for commercially viable proposals can be used to help fund start-up costs, working capital or business expansion and by applying through their Local Enterprise Office, clients can avail of a 1% reduction in the interest rate charged.