Local Enterprise Office Galway
The Local Enterprise Office is the first stop for any small business. Training, mentoring and advice are open to everyone. Its cash grants are only for manufacturing and internationally traded services businesses with up to 10 staff. What the Galway office can and cannot fund.
Local Enterprise Office Galway
- Address
- First Floor, County Buildings, Prospect Hill, Galway, H91 H6KX
- Phone
- 091 509090
- info@leo.galwaycoco.ie
- Website
- localenterprise.ie/Galway
- How to apply
- Appointment first. For a Feasibility, Priming or Business Expansion Grant, the office asks you to arrange a one-to-one appointment first, by phone or email, to discuss your needs and check whether you are eligible. Its Evaluation and Approvals Committee assesses every application, and grants of €50,000 or more also need Enterprise Ireland approval.
- Dates to know
- One-to-one business advisory sessions, booked online: 6, 9 and 13 October 2026
No 2026 grant closing dates or committee dates are published. Ask the office before you apply. - Courses
- Start Your Own Business courses and other training
Can your business get a LEO grant?
Four taps. The honest answer, and what you can use if the answer is no.
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What Galway City Council offers
Three strands: up to 50% of eligible costs, to a maximum of €10,000, for repairs, painting and signage; up to 60%, to €20,000, where the work includes accessibility and decluttering; and up to 75%, to €20,000, for artistic collaboration and work on protected structures and conservation areas. Neighbouring businesses applying together could get up to 75%, to €20,000 a premises.
Independent retail and hospitality businesses with a street-facing premises in Salthill, or inside the City Core, Lower Dominick Street or Eyre Square Architectural Conservation Areas. Chain stores and franchises are excluded. You must be the owner, or a leaseholder with the landlord's written consent, and be up to date on commercial rates or in an agreed payment plan.
Online application form with drawings, colour photos of the shop front and sketches of the changes, at least two written quotes, a schedule of works and tax clearance. Queries go to shopfront@galwaycity.ie or Economic Development on 091 536400.
Closed. Applications closed on Tuesday 30 June 2026. The council set aside €275,000, up from €200,000 in 2025.
We found no rates incentive for a new business opening in a vacant premises from Galway City Council for 2026. The council did not pass a vacancy abatement scheme for 2025 or 2026 either, so vacant properties in the city pay the full rates.
The council's 2026 budget cut its payment incentive scheme for ratepayers, so there is no early payment rebate in the city this year.
A Night-Time Economy pilot, funded by the council and the Department of Culture, Communications and Sport, that helps cafés in the city centre and Salthill open later with evening events, with programming, communications and marketing support. The 2026 call for expressions of interest closed on 2 March 2026, for events from April to June and from August to December.
The council's Economic Development Unit manages the Sandy Road Enterprise Centre and the Westside Enterprise Centre and rents out the units. Contact EconomicDevelopment@galwaycity.ie.
What Galway County Council offers
70% of the cost for a single property, or 80% where three or more neighbouring properties take part. There are limits for each type of work, with an overall limit of €8,000 for one premises.
Owners and tenants (with the owner's permission) of buildings in the village centres of Ahascragh and Killimor only. Community groups can also apply. Properties outside the qualifying area may be considered case by case.
Online application on the council's portal, with one to three quotations depending on the cost. The council's Rural Development Unit is on 091 509396.
The guidance asked for applications by 8 May 2026 in Ahascragh and in March and April 2026 in Killimor, with work finished by the end of September 2026 and claims in by the end of October 2026. The online forms still show a closing date of 31 October 2026, so check with the council.
These village schemes are paid for by the Town and Village Renewal Scheme. We found no countywide shop front or paint grant from Galway County Council for 2026.
We found no rates incentive for a new business opening in a vacant premises on Galway County Council's website for 2026. Its old commercial rates waiver page no longer exists.
5% of your 2026 rates demand, up to €500
Ratepayers with a 2026 commercial rates demand of up to €30,000 who clear all rates on the property, including arrears from earlier years, by the end of 2026.
The council assesses your account at the end of the year and applies the rebate to it. The council's rates page does not mention an application form.
Pay in full by the end of 2026.
If a commercial property is vacant, the owner can fill in the council's Vacancy Relief Application Form and send it to the Revenue Collector for the area, who considers it. The council does not publish a percentage.
Funds capital projects that regenerate town and village centres, such as bringing vacant buildings back into use as community spaces or remote working hubs. Expressions of interest for the main scheme (€50,000 to €300,000) and the Project Development Measure (up to €50,000) must be made online by 11pm on 23 October 2026. The Department makes the final choice from the council's shortlist.
LEADER funding in Galway
LEADER pays grants to rural businesses and community groups. In Galway it is delivered by 3 local groups, and their staff help you put an application together.
East Galway. Office at Mellows Campus, Athenry
Takes expressions of interest. Fill in the form and email leader@grd.ie, and the team contacts you to discuss the project. East Galway has €4.1 million for the whole 2023 to 2027 programme, and by February 2026 more than €3.4 million had been approved for 45 projects.
Phone: 091 844335
Connemara. Office in Letterfrack
Says it is accepting expression of interest forms, in English or Irish, with a full application to follow.
Phone: 095 41116
The Galway islands. Office on Inis Oírr
The programme is open. Contact the company for an expression of interest form.
Phone: 099 75096
Help with a business plan if you are on a welfare payment
If you are on a jobseeker's or other social welfare payment and want to start a business, a local development company helps you prepare the business plan for the enterprise allowances.
Galway city. Office at 3 The Plaza Offices, Headford Road
Its enterprise support is free.
Phone: 091 773466
East Galway. Office at Mellows Campus, Athenry
Phone: 091 844335
Also in Galway
- Galway is in the Western Development Commission region, so its loans and investment for western businesses are open to you.
- Galway has a Gaeltacht area. Businesses there deal with Údarás na Gaeltachta, which has its own grants, instead of the Local Enterprise Office for some supports.
- The nearest New Frontiers programme for early-stage founders is at Atlantic Technological University, Galway City and Mayo campuses (Innovation Hubs in Galway and Castlebar).
Good to know in Galway
Local Enterprise Office Galway covers the city and county, but not the Gaeltacht areas, where Údarás na Gaeltachta supports businesses. Its Priming Grant pays up to 50% of the investment, to a maximum of €100,000, with up to €150,000 in exceptional cases. The most it pays towards a new job is €10,000, for jobs paying more than €40,000. The office asks for a one-to-one appointment before any grant application, and it runs advisory sessions on 6, 9 and 13 October 2026.
Galway City Council has no rates rebate and no vacant premises incentive in 2026, and vacant properties in the city pay full rates. County Galway's 5% rebate for ratepayers who clear their bill is worth up to €500 to anyone with a 2026 rates demand of up to €30,000, paid in full by the end of the year. We found no rates incentive for vacant premises from the county council either.
Galway city's grant for independent shop fronts had €275,000 in 2026 and paid up to €20,000 for retail and hospitality businesses in Salthill and three conservation areas. It closed on 30 June 2026. In the county, the council's streetscape grants in 2026 covered only two villages, Ahascragh and Killimor, paying 70% or 80% of painting and facade work.
LEADER grants across rural Galway come through three companies: Galway Rural Development in east Galway, FORUM Connemara in Connemara, and Comhar na nOileán on the islands. All three start with an expression of interest form. Galway is one of the seven western counties covered by the Western Development Commission, and the Galway Gaeltacht is the largest in the country.
What every business in Galway can apply for
- Microfinance Ireland loans for Galway businesses: State-backed loans of €2,000 to €50,000 for businesses with fewer than 10 staff, start-ups included.
- the Back to Work Enterprise Allowance in Galway: keep your welfare payment for two years while you start a business.
- the Short-Term Enterprise Allowance in Galway: the same idea for people on Jobseeker's Benefit.
- the Grow Digital Voucher through the Galway office: half the cost of software and digital tools for small businesses.
- the Energy Efficiency Grant for Galway firms: help with the cost of cutting your energy bills.
- the Wage Subsidy Scheme for Galway employers: an hourly subsidy when you employ a person with a disability.
We can write the business plan for your allowance application
Starting a business in Galway? We write the business plan and 12-month cashflow that an allowance or a loan application asks for.
- 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
€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.
Common questions
Where is the Local Enterprise Office in Galway?
It is on the first floor of County Buildings, Prospect Hill, Galway, H91 H6KX. It is open Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm. Phone 091 509090 or email info@leo.galwaycoco.ie. The one office covers both Galway city and the county, except the Gaeltacht areas.
Can a shop or cafe in Galway get a LEO grant?
Not the main cash grants. The Feasibility, Priming and Business Expansion grants from the Galway office are for manufacturing and internationally traded services businesses with up to 10 employees. LEO Galway says it cannot give grant aid to retail, personal and professional services, construction or local services that duplicate existing businesses, but it can help with mentoring, training and website development. A shop or cafe with 1 to 50 employees that has traded for six months can apply for the Grow Digital Voucher (50% of the cost, up to €5,000, after a Digital for Business report) and the Energy Efficiency Grant (75% of the cost, up to €10,000, after a Green for Business report). A Microfinance Ireland loan is another option.
Do Galway City Council and Galway County Council give grants to businesses?
A little. Galway City Council's Shopfront Enhancement Scheme paid up to €20,000 to independent shops and hospitality businesses in Salthill and three conservation areas, but it closed on 30 June 2026, and the city has no rates rebate this year. Galway County Council gives a 5% rebate, up to €500, to ratepayers with a 2026 demand of up to €30,000 who pay in full by the end of the year. Its 2026 streetscape grants were only for Ahascragh and Killimor.
Who helps with a Back to Work Enterprise Allowance business plan in Galway?
It depends on where you live. Galway City Partnership (091 773466) covers the city and says its self-employment support is free and confidential. Galway Rural Development (091 844335) covers east Galway, and its enterprise officers help clients write business plans. FORUM Connemara (095 41116) helps people in Connemara apply for the allowance. Intreo first carries out an Assessment of Suitability, and the Department of Social Protection decides on the allowance.
Is LEADER funding open in Galway?
Yes, for expressions of interest. Galway Rural Development takes them for east Galway by email to leader@grd.ie, FORUM Connemara says it is accepting them for Connemara, and Comhar na nOileán takes them for the islands. If your project looks eligible, you are invited to make a full application. East Galway's budget for the whole programme is about €4.1 million, and more than €3.4 million of it had been approved by February 2026.
Where this comes from
- Local Enterprise Office Galway, contact page
- Local Enterprise Office Galway, Priming Grant
- Local Enterprise Office Galway, Business Expansion Grant
- Local Enterprise Office Galway, Feasibility Grant
- Local Enterprise Office Galway, eligibility criteria
- Local Enterprise Office Galway, Evaluation Committee
- Local Enterprise Office Galway, business advice clinics
- Local Enterprise Office Galway, short courses
- Local Enterprise Offices, Grow Digital Voucher
- Local Enterprise Offices, Energy Efficiency Grant
- Galway City Council, Shopfront Enhancement Scheme 2026
- Galway City Council, Shopfront Enhancement Scheme 2026 guidelines for applicants (PDF)
- Galway City Council, commercial rates FAQ
- Galway City Council, 2026 budget adopted
- Galway City Council, Café Lates 2026
- Galway City Council, Economic Development Unit
- Galway County Council, commercial rates FAQ and payment incentive scheme
- Galway County Council, vacant properties
- Galway County Council, Town and Village Renewal Scheme
- Galway County Council, Ahascragh Streetscape Enhancement Scheme
- Galway County Council, Ahascragh streetscape application form
- Galway County Council, Killimor streetscape application form
- gov.ie, LEADER Local Action Groups and implementing partners 2023 to 2027
- Galway Rural Development, LEADER programme
- Galway Rural Development, €1.2m in LEADER grants approved (18 February 2026)
- Galway Rural Development, enterprise and self-employment supports
- Galway Rural Development, contact details
- FORUM Connemara, LEADER 2023 to 2027
- FORUM Connemara, SICAP
- FORUM Connemara, contact details
- Comhar na nOileán, LEADER 2023 to 2027
- Galway City Partnership, Back to Work Enterprise Allowance and self-employment supports
- Galway City Partnership, contact details
- gov.ie, Back to Work Enterprise Allowance
- Údarás na Gaeltachta, the Galway Gaeltacht
- Western Development Commission, about us (the seven western counties)
- Western Development Commission, investment funds
- New Frontiers, Atlantic Technological University Galway City and Mayo campuses
Checked on 3 October 2026. We are an independent guide, not a government service. Closing dates and schemes change, so confirm with the office or the council before you rely on anything here.