Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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97. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the progress to date in implementing the measures to assist businesses to meet additional costs, as announced in budget 2024; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16981/24]

Emer Higgins (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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As you are aware, as part of Budget 2024, the government signed off on a package of €257 million for the Increased Cost of Business (ICOB) grant as a vital measure for small and medium businesses.

Local authorities, funded through the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment (DETE), are administering the grant to qualifying businesses on behalf of the Department.

Local Authorities have written out to rate paying businesses with details of how to register for the grant and it is up to businesses to verify their details through an online portal.

The portal has been open for registrations since 14th March. The closing date for the ICOB grant is 1st of May 2024. I would urge all eligible businesses to register for this grant as soon as they receive their letter from their Local Authority. The sooner a business registers the sooner their details will be verified and the grant will be paid out. Local Authorities will begin to send payments to eligible businesses from Monday next 22 April.

It is also worth pointing out the wide range of supports that were also made available to businesses in Budget 2024. These include:

• the extension of the 9% VAT rate on gas and electricity to the end of October 2024.
• an increase to the VAT registration thresholds since 1 January 2024, from €37,500 for services and €75,000 for goods to €40,000 for services and €80,000 for goods.
• An increase in the rate of the Research and Development (R&D) Tax Credit from 25% to 30%, on qualifying expenditure on R&D, from 1 January 2024. This will allow large MNEs subject to the new minimum tax to claim the tax credit at the same rate as they previously availed of and will also allow SMEs to avail of the full benefit of the rate increase.
• The first-year payment threshold of the R&D Tax Credit will also increase from €25,000 to €50,000, which will alleviate cashflow concerns for SMEs engaging in R&D.
• A new reduced rate of CGT entrepreneur relief of 16% for angel investors in innovative start-up SMEs when they dispose of a qualifying investment for gains up to twice the value of their investment up to €3 million.
• Enhancements to the Key Employee Engagement Programme (KEEP), and the Enterprise Investment Incentive Scheme (EIIS) are beneficial for business.