Sorca Clarke (Longford-Westmeath, Sinn Fein)
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7. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment to provide information on how the increased cost of business scheme announced in Budget 2024 will operate. [51134/23]

Pádraig O'Sullivan (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)
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66. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment when the increased cost of business grant will be operational; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51374/23]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 7 and 66 together.

The Increased Cost of Business Grant (ICOB) was announced as part of Budget 2024 and will be targeted at Small and Medium sized businesses who operate from a rateable premises. Firms who do not have a rateable premises are not within the scope of this scheme. The total allocation for this scheme is €250m.

It is important that I be clear that this scheme is a once-off grant aid provision and not a commercial rates waiver. It will have no bearing on the commercial rates paid by firms. Firms should continue to pay their commercial rates as normal.

The grant is intended to be paid at a rate of up to half the enterprise’s commercial rates bill, subject to a prescribed limit and the grant will be based on the commercial rates that firms were billed in 2023. The grant is intended to aid firms but is not intended to directly compensate for all increases in wages, or other costs, for every business. The grant will be paid through local authorities and will be paid in the first quarter of next year.

My Department will work with the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage and the Local Authorities to finalise the details of the grant and I am planning to bring a Memo forward in due course.

James O'Connor (Cork East, Fianna Fail)
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8. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if his Department will review the flood supports administered through the Red Cross for those affected whose insurance excess restricts them from accessing the current scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51587/23]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Under the emergency business flooding schemes the Government has made provision to provide up to €100,000 for small businesses, community, voluntary and sporting bodies directly affected by the weather events in Counties Cork, Galway, Waterford, Limerick, Louth, Wexford, and Kilkenny.

These schemes provide urgent assistance to businesses that were unable, through no fault of their own, to get insurance to help with the costs of repairing the damage caused by flooding.

The scheme are intended as an emergency humanitarian assistance contribution only and not as compensation for loss or a replacement for the cover provided by insurance.

For businesses, community, voluntary and sporting bodies the excess on their insurance claims should be a relatively small amount and, depending on their coverage, the cost of the damage incurred as a result of flooding should be covered by their insurance policy.

In addition, financial assistance by way of low-cost loans is immediately available from Microfinance Ireland to businesses with up to 9 employees that cannot get loan financing from other lenders. Loan options include cashflow loans of up to €25,000, which can be used for general business purposes including re stocking and other business costs. Loans for capital expenditure are also available, that could fund the refurbishment of premises, or the replacement of equipment damaged by the floods.