Government Supports
A number of government bodies & agencies provide funding & other supports, particularly to small businesses.
Government Supports
Overview
A number of government bodies and agencies provide funding and other supports to businesses, particularly small businesses.
The Department of Finance provides an overview table of financial supports provided by the Government and its agencies here.
The Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation provides an overview of financial supports provided by the Government and its agencies, with a focus on employment, here.
Grant Aid and Equity Investment
There are 35 County & City Enterprise Boards (CEBs) including four each in counties Cork and Dublin and two each in counties Limerick, Tipperary and Waterford. The CEBS provide financial assistance in the form of capital, employment and feasibility grants to eligible businesses in their area. To qualify for grants, businesses must, among other things, have up to 10 employees (including sole traders and partnerships) and be engaged in manufacturing and/or internationally traded services.
The three main types of grant provided are:
- Feasibility study grants
- Priming grants are provided to businesses within the first 18 months of starting up
- Business expansion grants, for businesses in the growth phase and that have been active for at least 18 months.
Both priming and business expansion grants cover a range of costs including capital and employment costs.
For more details on the grants available and details on how to apply to the CEB in your area, please visit the County & City Enterprise Boards website here.
Enterprise Ireland seeks to help Irish businesses to enter and expand in international markets. Its High Potential Start-Up (HPSU) team provides support and advice to entrepreneurs and early stage companies that are considered by Enterprise Ireland to have an innovative product, service or technology, and have the potential to achieve exports sales and create employment.
The New Frontiers Entrepreneur Development Programme is a support programme for entrepreneurs and early stage start-up businesses, which will be delivered at local level by Institutes of Technology, will provide participants with business training, mentoring, office and other business incubation facilities, introductions to seed and early stage capital investment networks, and, for those who progress to the second phase, €15,000 in funding from Enterprise Ireland.
For more information on Enterprise Ireland support for start-ups and entrepreneurs, please visit the Enterprise Ireland website here.
A number of other organisations serve particular sectoral or regional needs. For more information on sectoral or regional organisations, please click here.
A business’s eligibility for certain funding may be affected by past funding received or eligibility to receive funding from another organisation. Please contact the relevant organisation for more details.
Tax and Other Incentives
Apart from direct grants and investment, government financial support is also available to businesses through tax incentives.
The main tax incentives encourage third-party investment in businesses, employment or innovation.
For more details on the range of incentives, please visit the Grow Your Business section here.
