Almost €400 million has been paid this year to SMEs under the Power Up grant and the Increased Cost of Business Scheme, in what was a difficult year for small businesses, reports RTE.
The schemes were designed by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment and administered by the Local Authorities with the aim of helping businesses with the increased costs associated with running a business.
Many of the increased costs were labour costs which were imposed by Government, including increases to the minimum wage, and changes to sick pay, reports RTE.
Retail and hospitality businesses also campaigned for a cut to the 13.5% VAT rate, but it was not forthcoming in Budget 2025.
almost the course of the previous four weeks, the Power Up Grant, which was launched as part of Budget 2025, has disbursed almost €154 million to 38,500 firms since it closed for applications on November 22, reports RTE.
during 75,000 firms received €244 million from the ICOB scheme during the summer, with enterprises in the retail, hotel, and beauty industries receiving double payments.
According to Peter Burke, Minister of Enterprise, Trade, and Employment, the programs have been incredibly effective.
“This shows that Government is listening to business and is very aware of the difficulties being faced by business owners. I want to particularly thank Local Authorities all over the country for their hard work in administering both schemes and getting this vital support to businesses in an efficient and timely manner,” Minister Burke said, reports RTE.
“The Department has concentrated on getting payments to businesses as quickly as possible because I am aware of the difficulties that businesses continue to face,” stated Emer Higgins, Minister of State for Business, Employment, and Retail.
“I have met and listened to retailers across the country, heard about the challenges that they face, and the success of both of these grant schemes goes some way to assist these businesses in tackling rising costs,” she said, reports RTE.
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