Priming Grant application form: who can use it, what it asks, and what happens next

Who can use the form

Wicklow's form sets out the national rules. The business must:

• employ no more than 10 people, though some bigger ones may qualify
• be established, registered and operating in the office's area
• show there is a market for what it sells
• have room to grow, and to create jobs without hurting local businesses

Priority goes to manufacturing and internationally traded services that can grow into exporters and move on to Enterprise Ireland. Retail, personal services, professional services, and construction and local building services are not eligible.

Sole traders, partnerships, companies and co-operatives can apply, within the first 18 months of start-up. See what the start-up grant pays and the costs it will cover.

How you get the form

The route differs by office.

• Wicklow publishes its PDF form for reference, but you must meet a business adviser before you are given it.
• Dublin City has taken applications only through its online portal since December 2019. You complete an online eligibility assessment first, the team replies within 10 working days, and if you are eligible you get a link to the application.
• Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown asks for an online expression of interest, replies in about 10 working days, and usually meets you before sending a link to the formal application.

To see how yours works, check the page for your own county's enterprise office.

What the form asks, section by section

Wicklow's form runs to 28 pages and 49 questions.

Question 40 asks why the business needs the grant and what happens without it. Answer it with care: a project that would go ahead anyway is excluded.

The papers that go with it

• Three written quotes for any item over €5,000, and one quote, which can be verbal, for smaller items.
• The office's financial projections spreadsheet: a profit and loss forecast, a cashflow projection and a balance sheet. Dublin City asks for three years.
• Your latest certified accounts, or management accounts if you have traded for less than 18 months.
• Your CRO number or business name registration, if you have one.
• Evidence of your matching money, from savings, an investor or a loan.
• Evidence that your tax is in order.

The checklist warns that missing information causes delays, and only complete applications reach the committee. A 2016 Cork North and West guide says the adviser helps, but you do the writing.

How the committee decides, and when

The office acknowledges it and an executive meets you to discuss it. Once everything is in, it goes to the next meeting of the Evaluation and Approvals Committee. The form says the assessment looks at the merits of the proposal, your need for support, any earlier funding, how much funding is available, and the potential for jobs and sales growth.

Committees meet on fixed dates. Wicklow's meets about six times a year, and its last 2026 meeting is on 9 December, with papers due by 4 November. Limerick's last 2026 round closes on 27 October for a meeting on 24 November.

An acknowledgement is no sign that a grant will follow. If you are refused, the office must give reasons within seven working days, and you have four working weeks to appeal.

After approval

Do not spend before approval. The grant cannot pay for anything incurred before the application goes in, and early spending can make the whole project ineligible. Waiting for the offer is safer: a refusal leaves you with the bill.

Approval comes as a letter of offer. You pay suppliers first, then claim within the time it sets, with the signed acceptance, original invoices, proof of payment, a claim form, evidence of tax compliance and an accountant's certificate if asked.

Salary support comes in two instalments, at the start of the job and after six months, once the office has the job description and contract. Grant-aided equipment must be insured.

Part may be repayable. Kildare says up to 35% of a Priming Grant, normally starting 12 months after the final payment. Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown pays it as a full grant.

If your business is excluded, or not ready

Still researching a product? The grant for testing whether a new product would sell pays half the cost, up to €15,000. Past 18 months? The follow-on grant for makers past the start-up stage takes over, with the same sector rule.

A shop, cafe, trade or local service can use the Grow Digital Voucher after six months, the Energy Efficiency Grant with a rateable premises, a Microfinance Ireland loan of up to €50,000, and a council rates scheme for a vacant unit. We set out what a new local business can get instead, in order.

Common questions

Keep reading

• the three Local Enterprise Office cash grants side by side
• plan headings that also answer the grant form's questions
• a calculator for your half of a grant-aided project