John Paul O'Shea (Cork North-West, Fine Gael)
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108. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment for the take up of the new energy efficiency grant from the local enterprise offices across the country; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15865/25]

Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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The Energy Efficiency Grant (EEG) is available through the Local Enterprise Offices (LEOs). There are 31 LEOs across the country, each of which provides an extremely important role at local level as part of a supportive ecosystem. They provide services directly to small businesses, promote entrepreneurship, and contribute to the growth of jobs in the locality. I would strongly encourage anyone who is interested in starting or growing their own small business to contact their local LEO who can advise them on what assistance is available, tailored to their specific needs.

Government made a number of improvements to the EEG last July. The grant now offers 75% of project costs up to a maximum amount of €10,000. Additionally, the EEG is now open to all small businesses with up to 50 employees. The EEG provides supports to companies 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 EEG can fund practical measures to help a business reduce their long-term energy costs including upgrading to LED lighting, replacing heat pumps, and upgrading refrigeration units, ovens, and dishwashers. The EEG can also fund heat recovery and smart energy controls among other steps.

Provisional figures for 2024 show that 289 approvals were made to a value of €2.2m, while the most recent figures to the end of February 2025, show that so far this year, 90 approvals have been made at a value of €638,000.

John Paul O'Shea (Cork North-West, Fine Gael)
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109. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the progress being made on the appeals process for the Power Up grant scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15866/25]

Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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The Increased Cost of Business (ICOB) Scheme and the Power Up grant paid out over €400 million to SMEs in 2024.

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 is considering next steps in consultation with the Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform and the local authorities.