Starting a business

Start-up grants in Ireland: what a new business can really get in 2026

A new business that makes something or sells abroad can still get start-up money in 2026: a Priming Grant, a place on New Frontiers or Enterprise Ireland's pre-seed investment. An ordinary local business, such as a shop, cafe, salon or trade, cannot get those. Its routes are the enterprise allowances and the small grant that goes with them, a digital voucher, an energy grant, council schemes and a loan.

3 October 2026. Checked against the official sources on 3 October 2026.

First, which kind of start-up are you?

Almost every State start-up scheme draws the same line. The Local Enterprise Office rules say their grant aid does not support retail, personal services, professional services, or construction and local building services. New Frontiers and the Pre-Seed Start Fund shut out the same kinds of business.

The reason is displacement: a grant to one local business would only take trade from another. So a new cafe is excluded however good its plan. A small manufacturer with export plans may not be.

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Every scheme at a glance

SchemeWhat it paysWho it is forOpen or closed
Feasibility Study Grant50% up to €15,000. 60% in the Border, Midlands and WestResearching a maker or exporter ideaOpen
Priming Grant50%, normally up to €80,000Makers and exporters in their first 18 monthsOpen
New FrontiersTraining, and €17,500 tax-free in Phase 2Founders with an innovative idea that could exportOpen. College deadlines from 13 October 2026
Pre-Seed Start Fund€50,000 or €100,000 as a convertible loanCompanies under 4 years old in manufacturing or traded servicesOpen all year
Back to Work Enterprise AllowanceYour welfare payment for 2 years: 100%, then 75%9 months on a qualifying payment, almost any tradeOpen
Short-Term Enterprise AllowanceYour Jobseeker's Benefit rate, up to 9 monthsPeople on Jobseeker's Benefit, almost any tradeOpen
Enterprise Support GrantUp to €2,500People on either allowanceOpen
Grow Digital Voucher50% of new software, €500 to €5,000Any business after 6 months of tradingOpen
Microfinance Ireland Start Up Loan€5,000 to €50,000 loanBusinesses up to 12 months old, fewer than 10 staffOpen
Competitive Start FundUp to €50,000 for sharesTech and export start-upsClosed. Last call ended 8 March 2022
Trading Online Voucher50%, up to €2,500Small firms selling onlineClosed 13 December 2024
Paid service: business plan pack, €99

We can write the business plan for your allowance application

Our plan pack writes the business plan and 12-month cashflow that the two enterprise allowances ask for, under the Department's own headings.

  • Your business plan under the headings the Department of Social Protection asks for
  • Your 12-month cashflow, month by month
  • A prep sheet for the meeting with your adviser, and a guide to the form
€99Order my plan pack, €99See what is in the pack

€99 one-off, VAT included. You put in your figures and check your cashflow, then pay and answer the questions. A person prepares your pack within two working days. 14-day money-back promise. We cannot promise any funder will approve you.

If you make something or sell abroad

Testing the idea. The Feasibility Study Grant pays half the cost of market research, consultants and prototypes, up to €15,000. You do not need a business yet. The average grant in 2025 was about €10,500.

Getting going. The Local Enterprise Office grant for a maker's first 18 months pays half of equipment, fit-out, marketing and first-year rent, plus up to €15,000 for each new full-time job. The ceiling is normally €80,000, and €50,000 in Dublin City and Cork City. The 2025 average was about €29,000. You pay first and claim back, and part may be repayable. We go through the Priming Grant form and what the committee looks for separately.

Training with an allowance. New Frontiers is free, takes no shares and runs at 18 college locations. Phase 2 is six months full-time, with a €17,500 tax-free allowance for one founder, though Enterprise Ireland's own page still says €15,000. Several college deadlines fall between 13 October and 10 November 2026.

First outside money. Enterprise Ireland's €50,000 or €100,000 investment in very young companies is a loan at 3% that can turn into shares. The company must be under four years old, with sales under €150,000 a year, and bring in €5,000 of new cash for each €50,000. Roughly 100 companies got it in 2025.

If you are opening an ordinary local business

No Local Enterprise Office or Enterprise Ireland start-up money is open to a shop, cafe, salon, trade or local service. What there is, in rough order:

  1. On a welfare payment? Keeping a long-term jobseeker's payment for two years while you build the business needs 9 months on a qualifying payment. On Jobseeker's Benefit, the Short-Term Enterprise Allowance pays your rate for up to 9 months. Either one opens the Enterprise Support Grant, up to €2,500 towards equipment, insurance and a website, with at least 20% from you.
  2. Need money to open? Microfinance Ireland's Start Up Loan lends €5,000 to €50,000 to a business up to 12 months old, interest-only for three months. The rate is 6.5%, or 5.5% if your Local Enterprise Office refers you.
  3. Taking a premises? Ask your council about a rates scheme for vacant units. The 2026 schemes we found gave back 50% to 100% of the first year's rates. Some councils also pay about half the cost of a new shop front.
  4. After six months of trading. The Grow Digital Voucher pays half the cost of new software, up to €5,000. With a rateable premises, the Energy Efficiency Grant pays 75% of more efficient equipment, up to €10,000.

A Start Your Own Business course at your Local Enterprise Office costs €50 to €150 in the offices we checked, and ends with a draft business plan.

What has closed

The Competitive Start Fund. It was Enterprise Ireland's competition for up to €50,000 in equity. The fund's last call we can trace closed on 8 March 2022, and the Pre-Seed Start Fund took over that October. Any page telling you to wait for the next call is out of date.

The Trading Online Voucher. It paid half the cost of a website that could sell, up to €2,500, and closed at 5pm on 13 December 2024. The Grow Digital Voucher replaced it, but for off-the-shelf software, not a custom-built website.

Before you spend anything

Most grants here are paid only after you have paid the supplier. Spending before a Local Enterprise Office application is in can make the project ineligible, and the allowances must be approved before you trade.

A form sent in is no sign that money is coming. The committee, adviser or lender decides, and grants depend on there being budget left.

Common questions

Is there a start-up grant for a new shop or cafe?

Not from the Local Enterprise Office, New Frontiers or Enterprise Ireland, which all exclude retail and cafes. If the owner is on a welfare payment, the enterprise allowances and the Enterprise Support Grant of up to €2,500 are open. So are a Microfinance Ireland loan, council rates and shop front schemes, and the digital voucher and energy grant after six months.

Is the Competitive Start Fund still open?

No. The last call we can find closed on 8 March 2022. Enterprise Ireland launched the Pre-Seed Start Fund in October 2022 for the same kind of start-up, and it takes applications all year.

Do I have to pay a start-up grant back?

Sometimes part of it. Kildare says up to 35% of a Priming Grant may be repayable, starting 12 months after the final payment, while Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown pays its Priming Grant as a full grant. The Pre-Seed Start Fund is a loan that can turn into shares.

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Where this comes from

Checked on 3 October 2026. We are an independent guide, not a government service. Rules change, so confirm the detail on the official page before you apply.