Government grants for small businesses in Ireland: the 2026 list, by what you need

The list at a glance

Cutting energy bills

The Local Enterprise Office Energy Efficiency Grant pays 75% of more efficient equipment such as fridges, ovens, meters and controls. You need six months of trading, a rateable premises and a qualifying report first, usually a free Green for Business one. It does not cover solar panels or insulation.

For those, SEAI's grants for every kind of business premises pay up to 30% towards heat pumps and insulation, with an online offer in minutes. The solar grant is set by system size, and work must wait for SEAI's letter of offer. A business spending €10,000 a year on energy at a site can get a €2,000 audit voucher. That test changes on 11 October 2026.

Software and going digital

The Grow Digital Voucher pays half the cost of new off-the-shelf software, with set-up and training, up to €5,000. It needs six months of trading and a free Digital for Business report. It does not pay for a custom-built website, laptops or tills.

Taking on staff

• JobsPlus. The grant for hiring someone off a jobseeker's payment pays €7,500 or €10,000 over 18 months, for a job of at least 30 hours a week. Return the JP1 form within 30 days of the start, because it is not backdated.
• Wage Subsidy Scheme. From €7.50 an hour, on 15 to 39 hours a week, for a disabled employee whose job has to be significantly adapted. It is only paid from the date the application arrives, so read our walk-through of the WSS1ER, WSS1EE and WSS2 forms before the start date.
• Work and Access. Up to €25,000 for workplace adaptations, €12,000 for equipment and €12,500 a year for in-work support. Get final approval before buying anything.
• Apprenticeship Employer Grant. €2,000 a year for each apprentice on the programmes set up since 2016, such as commis chef, butchery, hairdressing and accounting technician. Craft trades such as electrician and plumber are not covered.

JobsPlus and the Wage Subsidy Scheme cannot be paid for the same job.

A premises

Rates and shop front schemes belong to the councils, and each sets its own. In the 2026 vacant premises schemes we checked, a business opening in an empty unit got 50% to 100% of its first-year rates back, falling over two to four years. Some councils also take 3.5% to 17.5% off a small ratepayer's bill, usually for paying on time. We list the rates schemes we found, council by council.

Shop front grants usually pay half the cost of painting, signage or a new front, after the work is done. On 3 October 2026, schemes were open in Fingal until 23 October, Louth until 30 October and South Dublin until 31 December, or until its budget runs out.

Growing or exporting

Most of these carry the export rule, so a shop, cafe or trade cannot get them however long it has traded.

The Local Enterprise Office growth grant for firms past 18 months pays 50% of growth costs, normally up to €80,000, for manufacturing and internationally traded services with up to 10 staff. The 2025 average was about €32,000.

The Market Explorer Grant pays 50%, up to €10,000, towards researching a new export market, for businesses trading at least 12 months.

The Innovation Voucher is the exception: €10,000 of college research time for a small or medium limited company in almost any sector except agriculture. Sole traders cannot apply.

The R&D tax credit gives companies 35% of qualifying research spending, for accounting periods ending on 31 December 2026 or later. A first claim needs 90 days' notice to Revenue.

Rural businesses, and what has gone

LEADER pays up to 75% of a business project, to €200,000, anywhere outside the five main cities. It excludes conventional retail, vehicles and stock, and nothing can start before the contract is signed.

Three well-known schemes are closed:

• Power Up, the flat €4,000 for retail, hospitality and beauty, closed on 22 November 2024.
• The Increased Cost of Business grant, based on the 2023 rates bill, closed on 29 May 2024.
• The Trading Online Voucher closed on 13 December 2024. The Grow Digital Voucher replaced it.

Budget 2027 on Tuesday 6 October 2026 is the next point at which a new one-off payment could be announced.

Common questions

Keep reading

• sector-by-sector notes for pubs, salons, shops and builders
• LEADER's 75% grants outside the five main cities
• the council shop front schemes still taking applications