Local Enterprise Office Limerick
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 Limerick office can and cannot fund.
Local Enterprise Office Limerick
- Address
- The Engine, Upper Cecil Street, Limerick, V94 TN32
- Phone
- 061 557499
- localenterprise@limerick.ie
- Website
- localenterprise.ie/Limerick
- How to apply
- Online portal. You first complete an online Grant Expression of Interest form. The office says a member of its team will be in touch within 10 working days to confirm whether you can apply. It takes a limited number of applications in each round, and any that arrive after the quota is reached go forward to the next round.
- Dates to know
- Final date to submit to the office for the last round of 2026: Tuesday 27 October 2026
Evaluation and Approval Panel meeting for that round: Tuesday 24 November 2026 - 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 Limerick City and County Council offers
Up to 75% of the cost of the work, to a maximum grant of €1,000
Owners of vacant and derelict properties in the towns and villages of County Limerick. It is not a grant for a trading shop.
Application form on the council's website. The Property Services Department handles the scheme. The council's Dereliction, Vacancy and Reuse Team generally picks out the properties and asks the owners to take part.
Closed. The closing date was Friday 2 October 2026.
A separate Shop Front Minor Repairs and Paint Scheme for trading shops in the three county Municipal Districts paid up to €1,000, or 50% of the cost, in 2025. Applications closed on 27 June 2025 and we found no 2026 round.
A grant worth 100% of your commercial rates in year 1 (up to €12,000), 75% in year 2 (up to €9,000), 50% in year 3 (up to €6,000) and 25% in year 4 (up to €3,000). You pay the rates in full each year first and then get the grant.
New businesses opening in a premises that has been vacant for at least 6 months, on the designated Limerick city centre streets or in the zoned town centre of a Level 2 or Level 3 town, as listed in the Limerick Development Plan, in the Adare-Rathkeale, Cappamore-Kilmallock and Newcastle West Municipal Districts. Your total 2026 rates bill must be €30,000 or less and you must sign up to pay by direct debit. A second store can be considered, but a move to a similar sized premises cannot. Takeaways, bookmakers, discount shops, vape shops, phone shops, tanning studios, pop-up shops, units in indoor shopping centres and supermarkets over 300 square metres are among those excluded.
Download the application form from the council's website and email it to business@limerick.ie, or post it to the Economic and Tourism Development Department, City Hall, Merchants Quay, Limerick, V94 EH90. You need proof of the vacancy, your lease or proof of ownership, and tax clearance.
Open. The 2026 scheme runs from 1 January to 31 December 2026. Every award is at the council's discretion.
17.5% of your 2026 commercial rates, up to a maximum of €1,500
Occupiers of rated commercial property in Limerick city or county with a total 2026 rates bill of €32,000 or less. The rates must be paid in full by 30 June 2026, or by 31 December 2026 if you pay by direct debit or an approved payment plan. Vacant properties and landlords applying for a tenant are excluded.
Online application form only, on the council's website. The payment is made by electronic transfer to your bank account. Queries go to the Rates Department on 061 556360 or rates@limerick.ie.
Open. The last date for applications is 31 December 2026.
Limerick city is one of nine places in the national Night Time Economy pilot. On the last Thursday of each month the council supports evening events in the city centre, and business owners, venues and performers can send an expression of interest to its Night Time Economy Advisor. Funding comes in two strands: up to €2,000, and over €2,000 for large events, decided case by case. The remaining 2026 dates are 29 October and 26 November.
Not a council grant. It is run by Ryder Cup Europe, with the council on the steering committee. Registered businesses, charities and not-for-profit groups in County Limerick can apply for €1,000 to €20,000 for projects under five headings: community, skills and education, environment, disability and regeneration. Applications opened on 28 September 2026 and close on 29 January 2027.
What would the council take off your rates?
Pick the council and put in the yearly rates bill for the premises.
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LEADER funding in Limerick
LEADER pays grants to rural businesses and community groups. In Limerick it is delivered by one local group, and their staff help you put an application together.
The whole of County Limerick, with development officers for east and west Limerick. LEADER does not cover areas inside the Limerick city boundary.
Takes expressions of interest as the first step. The 2026 targeted call, for biodiversity and water projects, closed to expressions of interest on 17 August 2026. Ask a development officer about rolling calls.
Phone: 069 62222
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.
Limerick city
Phone: 061 419 388
South and east Limerick. Offices in Kilfinane, Kilmallock and Cappamore
Phone: 063 91300
Also in Limerick
- The nearest New Frontiers programme for early-stage founders is at Technological University of the Shannon, Limerick campus (Hartnett Enterprise Acceleration Centre), delivered with the University of Limerick.
Good to know in Limerick
Local Enterprise Office Limerick asks for an online expression of interest before any grant application, and a member of staff contacts you about the next step. It takes a limited number of applications in each round. The last date to submit a project in 2026 is Tuesday 27 October, for the panel meeting on Tuesday 24 November. Its grant process page says retailers, such as coffee shops, and local services are not eligible for that funding.
Limerick City and County Council runs two rates schemes in 2026. The Limerick grant for opening in a vacant premises pays back 100%, 75%, 50% and 25% of rates over four years, capped at €12,000, €9,000, €6,000 and €3,000. The SME Support Scheme pays 17.5% of the year's rates, up to €1,500, to businesses with a rates bill of €32,000 or less. Both take applications until 31 December 2026.
LEADER in County Limerick changed for the 2023 to 2027 programme. West Limerick Resources now delivers it for the whole county, on behalf of the Limerick Local Community Development Committee. Ballyhoura Development delivers LEADER only in north Cork, though it still helps people in south and east Limerick who are applying for the Back to Work Enterprise Allowance.
Limerick hosts the Ryder Cup at Adare Manor in September 2027. Its Impact and Legacy Fund is open to registered businesses, charities and not-for-profit groups in the county, with grants of €1,000 to €20,000 for community, skills, environment, disability and regeneration projects. Applications close on 29 January 2027.
What every business in Limerick can apply for
- Microfinance Ireland loans for Limerick 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 Limerick: keep your welfare payment for two years while you start a business.
- the Short-Term Enterprise Allowance in Limerick: the same idea for people on Jobseeker's Benefit.
- the Grow Digital Voucher through the Limerick office: half the cost of software and digital tools for small businesses.
- the Energy Efficiency Grant for Limerick firms: help with the cost of cutting your energy bills.
- the Wage Subsidy Scheme for Limerick 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 Limerick? 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 Limerick?
It is at The Engine, Upper Cecil Street, Limerick, V94 TN32. It is open Monday to Friday, 9am to 4pm, and closed on public holidays. Phone 061 557499 or email localenterprise@limerick.ie.
Can a shop or cafe in Limerick get a LEO grant?
Not the main cash grants. The grants from Local Enterprise Office Limerick are for manufacturing and internationally traded services businesses with fewer than 10 staff, and its grant process page says retailers, such as coffee shops, and local services are not eligible. 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) and the Energy Efficiency Grant (75% of the cost, up to €10,000). Each one needs a consultant's report first. The council's two rates schemes, LEO mentoring and training, and a Microfinance Ireland loan are the other options.
Does Limerick City and County Council give grants to businesses?
Yes, mainly through commercial rates. In 2026 the SME Support Scheme pays 17.5% of your rates, up to €1,500, if your bill is €32,000 or less and is paid on time. The Vacant Business Premises Rates Incentive Scheme gives a new business in a vacant unit a grant of up to €12,000 in year 1, falling over four years. In the city centre, Twilight Thursdays pays for evening events, with a first strand of up to €2,000. The 2026 paint scheme for vacant and derelict buildings closed on 2 October 2026.
Who helps with a Back to Work Enterprise Allowance business plan in Limerick?
It depends on where you live. Limerick City Partnership (061 419 388) covers the city and gives free, confidential one-to-one help with a business plan and cashflow projections. West Limerick Resources (069 62222) covers west Limerick, and Ballyhoura Development (063 91300) covers south and east Limerick. Ballyhoura says your Intreo case officer makes the referral once you have confirmed that you can apply.
Is LEADER funding open in Limerick?
The first step is an expression of interest form, which West Limerick Resources takes for the whole county. The 2026 targeted call, for biodiversity and water projects, closed to expressions of interest on 17 August 2026, and full applications for it are due by 30 November 2026. Capital grants in that call are 75% of costs, to a maximum of €200,000. For other projects, phone 069 62222 and ask a development officer about rolling calls.
Where this comes from
- Local Enterprise Office Limerick, contact page
- Local Enterprise Office Limerick, grant process and 2026 dates
- Local Enterprise Office Limerick, Feasibility Grant
- Local Enterprise Office Limerick, Grant Expression of Interest Form
- Local Enterprise Office Limerick, training and events
- Local Enterprise Offices, Grow Digital Voucher
- Local Enterprise Offices, Energy Efficiency Grant
- Limerick City and County Council, Vacant Business Premises Rates Incentive Scheme
- Limerick City and County Council, rates incentive scheme 2026 guidelines and criteria (PDF)
- Limerick City and County Council, launch of the rates incentive scheme for 2026
- Limerick City and County Council, Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) Support Scheme
- Limerick City and County Council, SME Support Scheme 2026 announcement
- Limerick City and County Council, Paint Scheme for Vacant and Derelict Property
- Limerick City and County Council, Shop Front Minor Repairs and Paint Scheme (2025)
- Limerick City and County Council, Night Time Economy
- Limerick City and County Council, call for expressions of interest for Twilight Thursdays
- Ryder Cup Europe, 2027 Impact and Legacy Fund
- West Limerick Resources, 2023 to 2027 LEADER Programme
- West Limerick Resources, LEADER 2026 targeted call document (PDF)
- West Limerick Resources, enterprise supports
- Department of Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht, 2023 to 2027 LEADER Programme information leaflet (PDF)
- gov.ie, LEADER Local Action Groups and implementing partners 2023 to 2027
- Ballyhoura Development, apply for LEADER funding (north Cork)
- Ballyhoura Development, Back to Work Enterprise Allowance
- Ballyhoura Development, contact details
- Limerick City Partnership, SICAP enterprise support
- Limerick City Partnership, contact details
- gov.ie, Back to Work Enterprise Allowance
- New Frontiers, Technological University of the Shannon Limerick campus
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.