Local Enterprise Office Kildare
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 Kildare office can and cannot fund.
Local Enterprise Office Kildare
- Address
- MERITS, Devoy Quarter, Naas East, Naas, Co. Kildare, W91 FE8V
- Phone
- 045 980838
- localenterprise@kildarecoco.ie
- Website
- localenterprise.ie/Kildare
- How to apply
- Online portal. Send an Expression of Interest form on the office's online portal and a member of the team assesses whether you can apply. A full application, with a business plan and two to three years of projections, goes to the Evaluation Committee only when it is complete, and the office says the process takes at least 6 to 8 weeks from first contact. Up to 35% of a Priming or Business Expansion grant may have to be paid back.
- 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.
This tool needs JavaScript switched on in your browser.
What Kildare County Council offers
50% of eligible spending, up to €5,000 before VAT
Independent business owners who want to improve the front of a shop or commercial premises in a Kildare town or village. You need your rates paid to the council or a payment plan in place, and you must show that planning permission or an exemption covers the work.
Online application form with two contractor quotes or one materials quote (three written quotes for contracts over €5,000), proof of rates payment, a tax clearance certificate and the owner's written permission if you rent. Nothing may be paid for or done before the council's Business Support Unit approves it, and cash payments to contractors are not allowed. The council asks you to read the County Kildare Shopfront Guidelines first.
The 2026 deadline was 29 May 2026. The council still takes expressions of interest from anyone who wants to be considered, at shopfrontgrant@kildarecoco.ie or 045 980838.
A waiver of 75% of the yearly rates in year 1 (up to €7,500), 50% in year 2 (up to €5,000) and 25% in year 3 (up to €2,500). The waiver goes on your account once you have paid the rest of that year's bill and any arrears. You can ask for year 1 to be the year you open or the year after, which matters if you open part way through a year.
New businesses, or businesses expanding into a new location, that become the rated occupier of a town or village centre premises that has been vacant for at least 2 years, or 5 years if it was never occupied. You need a lease of at least 12 months or proof of ownership, and occupation of less than a year does not qualify. A business that relocates gets the waiver only on the increase in its rates. Charity shops, betting shops, arcades, vape and e-cigarette shops, adult shops, cash for gold shops, nightclubs, banks, moneylenders, off-licences, takeaways, pop-up shops, discount stores and multiples or franchises with more than three units are excluded.
Online application on the council's portal, with a tax clearance certificate, proof that rates and any development contributions are paid, your lease or proof of ownership, a statement that the business is new and not just relocating, and evidence that it is trading. Rates queries go to the Rates Admin Unit on 045 980656 or rates@kildarecoco.ie.
Open. The 2026 application form is open from 20 February to 31 December 2026.
We found no rebate for small ratepayers and no early payment discount on the council's commercial rates pages for 2026.
Half the cost of window displays, including lighting and shelving, for retailers and businesses in town centres, up to €1,000 of reimbursement in a calendar year. You can spread it over the year around festivals and local events. You need a photo of the premises, quotes, tax clearance, proof of rates payment and the owner's permission, and the work must be finished within 4 months of the Letter of Offer. Neither the council's page nor the Local Enterprise Office's page gives a year or a closing date, and the application link did not open a form when we checked, so ask at shopfrontgrant@kildarecoco.ie or 045 980838 before you plan around it.
Workspace at Devoy Quarter in Naas, paid for by Kildare County Council and Enterprise Ireland, in the same building as the Local Enterprise Office. Only founders and companies in digital, technology or internationally traded services that are eligible for Local Enterprise Office or Enterprise Ireland support can become tenants. You apply for membership online, and others can email JoinUs@merits.ie to be pointed to other spaces.
What would the council take off your rates?
Pick the council and put in the yearly rates bill for the premises.
This tool needs JavaScript switched on in your browser.
LEADER funding in Kildare
LEADER pays grants to rural businesses and community groups. In Kildare it is delivered by one local group, and their staff help you put an application together.
County Kildare. Projects must fit the Kildare Local Development Strategy 2023 to 2027.
Takes expressions of interest on a rolling basis, by email to leader@countykildarelp.ie or on a digital form. If yours is eligible in principle, a Project Development Officer helps you with the full application.
Phone: 045 895450
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.
County Kildare. Main office at Kildare Community Development Centre, Meadow Road, Kildare Town. You need a referral from your Department of Social Protection case worker first
Its enterprise support is free.
Phone: 045 895450
Also in Kildare
- The nearest New Frontiers programme for early-stage founders is at Maynooth University (MaynoothWorks), which runs it jointly with the Midlands centre in Athlone.
Good to know in Kildare
Local Enterprise Office Kildare starts every grant with an online Expression of Interest form. Applications usually close 3 weeks before an Evaluation Committee meeting, but the office's grant dates page still shows 2020 dates, so ask the office for the next one. Up to 35% of a Priming or Business Expansion grant may be repayable, normally starting 12 months after the final drawdown, and the committee sets the share when it approves the grant. The office recommends its monthly one-hour Financial Projections briefing before you apply.
Kildare's waiver for reopening long-empty town and village units takes 75%, 50% and 25% off the rates over three years, capped at €7,500, €5,000 and €2,500. The unit must have been vacant for two years, or five if never occupied, and applications are open until 31 December 2026. In the council's own example, a business that opens on 1 July with a €4,000 yearly bill gets €4,500 in total if the waiver starts at once, and €6,000 if it starts the next January.
The Kildare council grant for shopfronts and window displays comes in two parts. The Shop Front Improvement Grant pays half the cost of improving a shopfront, up to €5,000 before VAT. Its 2026 deadline passed on 29 May, but the council still takes expressions of interest. The Retail Window Merchandising Grant pays half the cost of window displays, up to €1,000 a year.
County Kildare LEADER Partnership, based in Kildare Town, delivers LEADER funding for rural Kildare projects and takes expressions of interest all year. It also helps people on a jobseeker's payment who have been referred for self-employment. They get one-to-one help with a business plan and the Back to Work Enterprise Allowance application, and a free four-day pre-enterprise course that covers tax, pricing, cashflow, accounts and marketing.
What every business in Kildare can apply for
- Microfinance Ireland loans for Kildare 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 Kildare: keep your welfare payment for two years while you start a business.
- the Short-Term Enterprise Allowance in Kildare: the same idea for people on Jobseeker's Benefit.
- the Grow Digital Voucher through the Kildare office: half the cost of software and digital tools for small businesses.
- the Energy Efficiency Grant for Kildare firms: help with the cost of cutting your energy bills.
- the Wage Subsidy Scheme for Kildare 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 Kildare? 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 Kildare?
Local Enterprise Office Kildare is in the MERITS building, Devoy Quarter, Naas East, Naas, W91 FE8V. It is open Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm. Phone 045 980838 or email localenterprise@kildarecoco.ie. To meet a business adviser for a 45 to 50 minute confidential session, fill in the Business Advice form on its website first.
Can a shop or cafe in Kildare get a LEO grant?
Not the main cash grants. The Kildare office's start-up and expansion grants are for manufacturing and internationally traded services businesses with up to 10 employees. Its FAQ lists retail outlets, professional services, builders, hairdressers, cafes, restaurants, pubs, hotels and trades among the projects it cannot fund. A shop or cafe can apply for the Grow Digital Voucher (50% of the cost, up to €5,000, after a Digital for Business consultant's report) and the Energy Efficiency Grant (75% of the cost, up to €10,000, after a Green for Business report). It can also use mentoring, training and a Microfinance Ireland loan. The office says loans that go through it get 5.5% APR, against 6.5% direct, and its mentor help with the application is free of charge.
Does Kildare County Council give grants to businesses?
Yes. The Commercial Rates Incentive Waiver Scheme 2026 takes 75%, 50% and 25% off the rates over three years for a new business in a long-vacant town or village unit, and it is open until 31 December 2026. The Shop Front Improvement Grant pays half the cost, up to €5,000, and the council is still taking expressions of interest after its 29 May deadline. There is also a window display grant of up to €1,000 a year. We found no rebate for small ratepayers.
Who helps with a Back to Work Enterprise Allowance business plan in Kildare?
County Kildare LEADER Partnership in Kildare Town (045 895450). Speak to your case officer at Intreo first, because you need a referral for self-employment. Then call the partnership to make an appointment with its Enterprise Support Worker. You get one-to-one help with the business plan and the allowance application, and a place on its free four-day pre-enterprise training. A Deciding Officer in the Department of Social Protection makes the decision on the allowance.
Is LEADER funding open in Kildare?
Yes, for expressions of interest, which County Kildare LEADER Partnership takes on a rolling basis. Email the form to leader@countykildarelp.ie or use its digital form, and describe exactly what you want funding for and what it will cost. If the idea is eligible in principle, a Project Development Officer helps with the full application, which includes a procurement process and a business plan. Nothing can start until you have signed the contract.
Where this comes from
- Local Enterprise Office Kildare, contact page
- Local Enterprise Office Kildare, how to apply for a grant
- Local Enterprise Office Kildare, how the grant application progresses
- Local Enterprise Office Kildare, grant application dates
- Local Enterprise Office Kildare, projects the office cannot financially assist
- Local Enterprise Office Kildare, refundable aid
- Local Enterprise Office Kildare, Priming Grant
- Local Enterprise Office Kildare, business advice clinics
- Local Enterprise Office Kildare, Microfinance Ireland loans
- Local Enterprise Office Kildare, MERITS
- Local Enterprise Offices, Grow Digital Voucher
- Local Enterprise Offices, Energy Efficiency Grant
- Local Enterprise Office Kildare, Shopfront Improvement Grant
- Local Enterprise Office Kildare, Retail Window Merchandising Grant
- Kildare County Council, Retail Window Merchandising Grant
- Kildare County Council, supporting business in County Kildare
- Kildare County Council, Commercial Rates Incentive Waiver Scheme 2026
- Kildare County Council, Commercial Rates Incentive Waiver Scheme 2026 terms and conditions (PDF)
- Kildare County Council, Commercial Rates Incentive Waiver Scheme 2026 application form
- Kildare County Council, commercial rates
- Kildare County Council, general commercial rates advice
- County Kildare LEADER Partnership, 2023 to 2027 LEADER Programme
- County Kildare LEADER Partnership, pre-enterprise training and the Back to Work Enterprise Allowance
- County Kildare LEADER Partnership, contact details
- gov.ie, LEADER Local Action Groups and implementing partners 2023 to 2027
- gov.ie, Back to Work Enterprise Allowance
- New Frontiers, Maynooth University
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.