Aindrias Moynihan (Cork North-West, Fianna Fail)
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57. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment to consider a support scheme for SME’s that did not qualify under the Power Up Grant; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6756/25]

Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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In total, the Increased Cost of Business (ICOB) and Power Up grant schemes paid out over €400 million in 2024 to SMEs right across the country.

In order to get payments to businesses before the end of 2024, the Power Up grant was aligned with the ICOB scheme, and a business must have received the second ICOB grant and be in the hospitality, retail and beauty sectors in order to receive the Power Up grant. If a business did not apply for ICOB, they were unable to apply for the Power Up grant.

One of the eligibility requirements of these schemes was that a business must be operating from a rated premises. The intention behind this provision was to assist businesses operating from fixed premises to meet some of the ongoing costs of maintaining those premises. Furthermore, the grant recognises that commercially rateable premises are subject to a commercial rates bill, which is a further cost not borne by those who do not operate from a rateable premises.

While the initial ICOB Grant was provided to a broader range of rateable premises, the subsequent second ICOB payment and the Power-Up Grant were specifically limited to the retail, hospitality and beauty sectors, in recognition of particular difficulties faced by businesses operating in these sectors.

At present, I have no plans to introduce an additional support scheme for SMEs in a similar vein to the Power Up Grant.

My Department is aware of issues that have arisen during the registration period, in particular, in relation to businesses that were ineligible for the grant due to incorrect classification of their business type while registering for ICOB. The Department is currently reviewing the issues that have arisen and will consider next steps in consultation with the Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform and the local authorities.

In terms of broader supports for businesses, I would encourage any small business owners looking to avail of government support to consult the National Enterprise Hub (NEH), which launched in July 2024. The NEH has been designed as an entry point to aid business owners find relevant supports and help for their business.

I would also recommend that such businesses contact their Local Enterprise Office (LEO) and seek the advice of a business adviser. The LEOs play an extremely important role at local level, as part of a supportive ecosystem, providing their services direct to small businesses and promoting entrepreneurship within towns and communities across the country.

Michael Cahill (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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58. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the number of businesses in Kerry that applied for the Power Up grant; the number of the applications that were successful; the total value of the grants approved; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6623/25]

Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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In total, the Increased Cost of Business (ICOB) and Power Up grant schemes paid out over €400 million to SMEs right across the country.

In relation to County Kerry, 1,632 businesses registered for the Power Up grant, 1,581 businesses have been approved and paid a total of €6.3 million.

Eamon Scanlon (Sligo-Leitrim, Fianna Fail)
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59. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the number of businesses in counties Sligo and Leitrim that applied for the Power Up grant; the number of the applications in each county that were successful; the total value of the grants approved in each county; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6670/25]

Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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In total, the Increased Cost of Business (ICOB) and Power Up grant schemes paid out over €400 million to SMEs right across the country.

In order to get payments to businesses before the end of 2024, the Power Up grant was aligned with the ICOB scheme and a business must have received the second ICOB grant and be in the hospitality, retail and beauty sectors in order to receive the Power Up grant.

Local Authorities across the country administered the Power Up scheme on behalf of my Department.

606 businesses registered for the Power Up grant in County Sligo with 599 businesses being paid to the value of €2.4 million.

326 businesses registered for Power Up grant in County Leitrim with 321 businesses being paid to the value of €1.3 million.

My Department is aware of issues that have arisen during the registration period, in particular, in relation to businesses that were ineligible for the grant due to incorrect classification of their business type while registering for ICOB. The Department is currently reviewing the issues that have arisen and will consider next steps in consultation with the Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform and the local authorities.

Claire Kerrane (Roscommon-Galway, Sinn Fein)
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60. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment whether he intends to introduce supports for businesses affected by Storm Éowyn; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6590/25]

Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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Government is acutely aware of the significant challenges that the impacts of Storm Éowyn has caused for business owners over recent weeks.

Since 24 January, I have been closely monitoring the situation in relation to Storm Éowyn and its impacts on the business community through regular updates from the National Emergency Coordination Group and updates from Local Enterprise Offices in the counties with the most significant and prolonged impacts.

Following the immediate damage caused by the storm, many businesses have been impacted by subsequent outages in relation to power, water and communications networks.

With regard the issue of potential schemes to support businesses with losses arising from Storm Éowyn, I would in the first instance encourage businesses to seek recourse through their insurance providers to cover losses incurred.

The Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment has in the past operated targeted Emergency Humanitarian Flooding Scheme in response to specific flooding incidents. These schemes are specifically targeted to providing a contribution to small businesses of up to 20 employees as well as community, voluntary and sporting bodies who have experienced damage as a result of flooding and to help them get back up and running. A condition of eligibility for these schemes is that the businesses must not have been able to secure flood insurance through no fault of its own.

The Programme for Government includes a commitment to an Extreme Weather Event Assistance Scheme, designed to support affected households, farms and businesses. This initiative predates Storm Éowyn and is a strategic policy action for delivery. Officials in my Department have begun working as a matter of urgency on the aspects of such a scheme relevant to the business sector.