Brendan Griffin (Kerry, Fine Gael)
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340. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the targeted supports or relief measures that are in place to help coffee shops manage financial challenges amid rising operational costs; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44947/24]

Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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I am very aware of the difficulties businesses continue to face due to rising costs especially in the hospitality sector.

As part of Budget 2025, I recently announced the Power Up Grant which has a budget of €170 million. The Power Up Grant builds on the success of the Increased Cost of Business Scheme. This grant is specifically for businesses in the hospitality, retail and beauty sectors who received a second payment of the ICOB grant. Up to 39,000 of those businesses are now in line to receive a €4,000 Power Up Grant once they continue to meet the eligibility requirements.

If a coffee shop received a second payment under the ICOB scheme, then that business is in line for a €4,000 Power Up grant. This grant is available from the Local Authorities who are administering the scheme on behalf of my Department. The closing date for registering for the Power Up grant is 8th November so I would urge businesses who received the 2nd ICOB payment to register now in order to get payment before the end of the year.

New businesses in the hospitality, retail and beauty sectors that did not receive the second payment under ICOB may also eligible for Power Up if they were trading in 2023 from a rateable premises but were unable to apply for ICOB as they did not have a 2023 commercial rates bill.

It is worth noting that I have also introduced a range of other supports that are aimed at assisting SMEs.

I introduced changes to the Local Enterprise Office Energy Efficiency Grant to make it more attractive to SMEs. The Energy Efficient Grant supports capital investment by businesses to reduce carbon emissions based on energy efficiency projects. The scheme supports businesses to reduce their carbon emissions and overall energy costs by accelerating the adoption of low carbon technologies or processes identified through a Green for Business, Green Start or SEAI Energy Audit. The grant now offers 75% of project costs, up to a maximum of €10,000. Applications are open since 12 July.

The LEO Digital for Business consultancy assists businesses in understanding digitalisation and its benefits, and developing a digital roadmap for the business, contributing to the overall target of basic digital intensity for small businesses. Digital for business is free with no cost to the applicant.

On 4th September the Grow Digital Voucher was launched. Under this new offer, the funding available has been increased to up to €5,000 and the eligibility criteria expanded to cover a wider range of digital interventions available to a broader range of businesses compared to the Trading Online Voucher.

I launched the National Enterprise Hub on 10 July 2024, it is a new all-of-government service, funded through my Department and operated by Enterprise Ireland. It is staffed by expertly trained advisors and is focused on helping businesses access a range of government supports.

There was a number of enterprise tax measures announced in Budget 2025 which will be of relevance to businesses. These include:

• Changes to the CGT Retirement Relief to support intergenerational transfers;
• Raising the VAT registration threshold to €85,000 for goods and €42,500 for services;
• Enhancements to the Small Company Start Up Relief;
• Increasing the Small Benefit Exemption Limit to €1,500, and the number of benefits allowable from 2 to 5 annually;
• A €125 increase in the Earned Income Tax Credit.