27th December 2024
€154 million paid out alone in last four weeks under the Power Up grant
Today Peter Burke, Minister for Enterprise Trade and Employment, announced that almost €400 million has been paid this year to SMEs right across the country under the Power Up grant and the Increased Cost of Business Scheme (ICOB). 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.
The Power Up grant, announced as part of Budget 2025, closed for applications on November 22nd and has now paid out over €154 million to 38,500 businesses over the last four weeks.
The ICOB scheme paid €244 million during the summer to over 75,000 businesses, including a double payment for businesses in the retail, hospitality and beauty sectors.
Speaking about this, Minister Burke said:
“The Increased Cost of Business scheme and the Power Up grant have been hugely successful this year. My department has paid out just under €400 million this year alone to businesses in need across the country. This is a significant amount of money that has been directly targeted at SMEs and has benefitted thousands of small, family-run businesses. 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 of State for Business, Employment and Retail, Emer Higgins said:
“I know the challenges that businesses continue to face and that is why the department has focused on getting payments to businesses as quickly as possible. 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.”
Minister of State for Trade Promotion, Digital Transformation and Company Regulation, Dara Calleary said:
“Getting supports to businesses across the country this year was a priority for the department and I am delighted at the success of both of these schemes, and that we were able to pay out such a significant sum directly into the bank accounts of our small and medium sized businesses, especially in the face of rising costs and in the run up to the Christmas trading period.”
ENDS
Back to Department News