Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 7 November 2024
105. Deputy Pa Daly asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the criteria for the Power Up Grant; and his views on the exclusion of certain rateable businesses, selling services to the public such as undertakers or gyms from the scheme. [45535/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraI am very aware of the difficulties businesses continue to face due to rising costs and that is why the Government announced the Power Up Grant in Budget 2025. The Power Up Grant has a budget of €170 million and builds on the success of the Increased Cost of Business Scheme. The grant is for businesses in the hospitality, retail and beauty sectors who received a second payment under the Increased Cost of Business Scheme.
If a business in the hospitality, retail and beauty sectors did not receive a second ICOB grant payment then they are not eligible to receive the power up grant. A small cohort of businesses in the hospitality, retail and beauty sectors that did not receive the second payment under ICOB may now be 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.
The reason for payments in specific sectors is due to the greater impact that increased costs are having on the hospitality and retail and beauty sectors, as noted in the DETE-DSP joint working paper titled “An assessment of the cumulative impact of proposed measures to improve working conditions in Ireland”.
A total of €154 million was paid to over 75,000 businesses under the first payment of that scheme. Undertakers and Gyms were eligible for the first ICOB grant if they met the criteria under that scheme, including that they were trading from a rateable premises and they had a rates bill of under €30,000. Undertakers and Gyms were not eligible for the second ICOB payment and are therefore not eligible for Power Up.
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.
The Grow Digital Voucher was launched on 4 September. 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.
Further 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.
