Rose Conway-Walsh (Mayo, Sinn Fein)
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206. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment for an update on the increased cost of business grant scheme and the Power Up grant scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22003/25]

Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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The Increased Cost of Business scheme was introduced in March 2024 and the Power Up grant was introduced in October 2024. Both schemes are now closed, however, in total, €400 million in grant aid was successfully paid to SMEs right across the country in 2024 under these grants.

As I have previously outlined my Department is aware of issues that have arisen during the registration period, in relation to businesses that were ineligible for the grant due to incorrect classification of their business type while registering for ICOB.

My Department has reviewed these issues and consulted with the Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform and with the local authorities.

In order to address this, we are now proposing to open an appeals process that will give those businesses in the retail, hospitality and beauty sectors that were not eligible for ICOB and the Power Up grant because of the misclassification issue, an opportunity to register for those grants.

This is not a re-opening of those grant schemes, rather this is designed to allow those who originally misclassified their business sector an opportunity to register for the grants.

It is intended to open the appeals process as soon as possible following discussions with the local authorities who previously administered both the ICOB and Power Up grant schemes on behalf of my Department.

Emer Currie (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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207. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the schemes in place to encourage businesses to set up in our towns and villages and if his Department has plans to introduce more schemes to ensure the longevity of our towns and villages. [21914/25]

Alan Dillon (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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There are a wide range of supports in place to support anyone who wants to start a business and the Government is committed to supporting entrepreneurs who want to set up in any of our towns and villages countrywide.

Through the network of Local Enterprise Offices across the country, training and advice on entrepreneurship and helping businesses to start, grow and deal with challenges of running a business is widely available. LEOs support job creation and provide accessible high-quality supports for small businesses.

The LEOs provide business advice, training and mentoring supports to anyone looking to start a business, including the Start Your Own Business programme.

LEOs also offer start-up grant assistance to small businesses, with priority given to enterprises in the manufacturing and internationally traded services sectors who have the potential to export. There are thousands of small businesses who have benefited from a business expansion, priming or feasibility grant, through their LEO.

LEOs also provide a wide range of training and mentoring supports, as well as digital and green supports through free consultancy from the Digital and Green for Business, and grant supports such as the Energy Efficiency Grant and Grow Digital Voucher.

Aside from business supports, LEOs contribute to the development of economic strategies such as the Local Economic and Community Plans and ensure that an enterprise perspective is brought to bear on various Local Authority and regional plans and frameworks.

LEOs also act as a catalyst for economic development by driving collaboration with the broader enterprise ecosystem at the local level.

Balanced regional development is a Government priority and a central component of the White Paper on Enterprise 2022-2030 is to support balanced regional enterprise development. My Department and its agencies contribute to this agenda in several ways, including through the nine Regional Enterprise Plans. These are bottom-up plans developed and led by regional stakeholders which focus on collaborative initiatives to strengthen the enterprise ecosystem in each region.