Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Budget 2024 backed businesses, in particular SMEs, in the face of ongoing challenges. There were a number of measures introduced that will support businesses in every city, region, town and village in Ireland.

My Department has received sanction for a €250m Increased Cost of Business Scheme. The grant will be paid to SMEs who pay commercial rates to their local authorities. The aim of this scheme is to assist businesses in tackling the increasing costs of doing businesses arising as a result of rising input costs (including energy), the increasing cost of wages, inflation, and other factors. This scheme will be administered through the local authorities and will provide a targeted refund to approximately 130,000 micro and small businesses, equating to 87% of rated businesses.

The introduction of the new targeted Angel Investment Scheme will introduce a reduced Capital Gains Tax Rate of 16% and will be a catalyst for promoting innovation. This new scheme will mainly be of benefit to angel investors who invest in innovative SMEs.

In addition to this, the increase in the Research and Development tax credit from 25% to 30% and the increase in the payment threshold from €25,000 to €50,000 are also measures that will further encourage investment in R&D by both large and small companies. The increase in the rate will mean that any companies in-scope will be eligible to the same value of the R&D tax credit before the implementation of the new minimum effective corporation tax rate.

The Employment Investment Incentive Scheme (EIIS) has been a crucial source of funding for Irish SMEs since its introduction in 2011. The equalising of the EIIS investor relief from €250,000 to €500,000 for all investments will ensure that this stream of funding will continue and indeed increase in the coming years.

The key changes made to the Key Employee Engagement Programme (KEEP) includes an extension of the scheme and an increase in the lifetime limit for KEEP shares from €3million to €6 million. The first increase in the VAT thresholds since 2007 is a welcome increase and will support the smallest of firms to cope with the effects of inflation.

I also announced a new National Enterprise Hub which will include a dedicated website and phone line with a Hub Advisor to help businesses access State supports. Any business can call it for direct help in navigating the comprehensive suite of supports that are being offered to business throughout Ireland.

The Local Enterprise Offices were allocated an additional €9m in capital funding which will goes towards helping more SMEs go digital and decarbonise helping them save time, money and energy. An additional €8m was allocated to Enterprise Ireland for green and digital schemes to support Irish companies.

I want to ensure you that I, my Department, and its officials are fully committed to serving the SME sector in Ireland and the measures in Budget 2024 reflect this commitment.