Local Enterprise Office Mayo
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 Mayo office can and cannot fund.
Local Enterprise Office Mayo
- Address
- Mayo House, Moneen Road, Castlebar, Co. Mayo, F23 N504
- Phone
- 094 9064299
- info@leo.mayococo.ie
- Website
- localenterprise.ie/Mayo
- How to apply
- Talk to an adviser first. Check the eligibility criteria, then contact the office to discuss your plans with one of its business advisers. The Evaluation and Approvals Committee can approve projects under €50,000, and larger projects go to Enterprise Ireland for final approval. The office says that, depending on its funds, it may not always be able to accept applications, so ask before you start.
- Dates to know
- Meet Mayo business expo, organised by the office: Friday 23 October 2026, 9am to 1pm, Ballinrobe Racecourse. Register by 12pm on Friday 16 October 2026.
Mayo Ideas Month events: 7 October to 6 November 2026
No 2026 grant closing dates or committee dates are published. - 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 Mayo County Council offers
We found no shop front, streetscape or paint grant from Mayo County Council for 2026. The most recent one we found was the Castlebar Municipal District Shopfront Grant Scheme 2024, which paid 50% of the cost, up to €1,000, for shops in Castlebar and nearby villages. It closed on 20 June 2024.
We found no rates incentive for a new business opening in a vacant premises from Mayo County Council for 2026. The council's vacancy abatement, 90% for 2026, helps the owner of an empty property, not a new tenant.
5% of your 2026 rates, for a property with a Net Annual Valuation of €42,500 or less
Businesses in a rated commercial property in County Mayo with a valuation of €42,500 or less, whose 2026 rates are paid in full by 31 July 2026, or by a direct debit set up to clear the bill by 31 December 2026. Where there were arrears, an approved payment plan had to start before 1 April 2026. A business with several properties qualifies once, on its highest qualifying property.
No application. The council credits your rates account automatically in the last quarter of 2026. Queries go to rates@mayococo.ie.
Pay in full by 31 July 2026, or by direct debit by 31 December 2026.
The council's general rates page says a payment plan must clear the bill by 31 October 2026.
Ratepayers whose rates were €10,000 or less and who lost out in the rates revaluation got a credit in 2025. If you got it in 2025 and have not moved premises, you get the same credit again in 2026, up to €2,000, with nothing to do. The council says it will not continue into 2027 unless you have a revision or appeal of your valuation. Queries go to ratesupport@mayococo.ie.
Owners of a commercial property that is genuinely vacant and advertised to let, or closed for major refurbishment, can get 90% off the rates. Download the Vacancy Relief Form 2026 from the council's website.
LEADER funding in Mayo
LEADER pays grants to rural businesses and community groups. In Mayo it is delivered by 5 local groups, and their staff help you put an application together.
South and west Mayo, including the Gaeltacht areas
Open to expressions of interest, returned to info@southmayo.com. Expressions of interest for tourism accommodation have closed, and the company says only limited funding remains, so being eligible in principle does not mean you will reach application stage. The smallest grant is €5,000.
Phone: 098 41950
North and east Mayo. Offices in Foxford, Belmullet and Knock
Open to expressions of interest, with Moy Valley Resources. Download the form from its website.
Phone: 094 9256745
North Mayo. Two development officers who help groups and businesses prepare LEADER projects, working with Mayo North East
Says LEADER 2023 to 2027 is open for applications.
Phone: 096 70905
The five electoral divisions around Kiltimagh
Gives advice and an expression of interest form, and can send the form on your behalf to South West Mayo Development Company.
Phone: 094 9381494
The Mayo islands
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.
The Castlebar and Claremorris Municipal Districts and the Mayo islands. Self-employment supports from Main Street, Balla
Phone: 094 9366692
North and east Mayo. Offices in Foxford, Belmullet and Knock
Phone: 094 9256745
Also in Mayo
- Mayo is in the Western Development Commission region, so its loans and investment for western businesses are open to you.
- Mayo 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 Hub in Castlebar).
Good to know in Mayo
Local Enterprise Office Mayo's grant rules are stricter than most. As well as being in manufacturing or internationally traded services, with up to 10 staff, your project must be a new product or service that does not already have a competitor in the region. Priming and Business Expansion grants pay up to 50% of the investment, usually to a maximum of €80,000, with up to €150,000 for projects that could graduate to Enterprise Ireland. The Feasibility Grant pays up to 60%, to a maximum of €15,000.
Mayo County Council's main help for small firms is through rates. Mayo's 5% rates support for properties valued under €42,500 is credited automatically late in 2026 if you paid by 31 July or set up a direct debit. Ratepayers hit by the revaluation keep a credit of up to €2,000 in 2026, and owners of empty property can claim 90% vacancy relief. We found no shop front grant and no vacant premises incentive from the council for 2026.
LEADER funding for rural Mayo has a budget of €6.6 million for the county. South West Mayo Development Company covers the south and west, including the Gaeltacht, and says only limited funding remains. Mayo North East covers the north and east with help from Moy Valley Resources, IRD Kiltimagh advises people around Kiltimagh, and Comhar na nOileán covers the islands. South West Mayo excludes tourism accommodation in Westport and Castlebar.
The Mayo Gaeltacht takes in parts of Tuar Mhic Éadaigh, Acaill and Iorras, where Údarás na Gaeltachta supports businesses. Enterprise Ireland's New Frontiers programme for start-up founders runs through Atlantic Technological University, which has an Innovation Hub with 10 incubation units in Castlebar. Meet Mayo, the office's free business expo, is at Ballinrobe Racecourse on 23 October 2026.
What every business in Mayo can apply for
- Microfinance Ireland loans for Mayo 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 Mayo: keep your welfare payment for two years while you start a business.
- the Short-Term Enterprise Allowance in Mayo: the same idea for people on Jobseeker's Benefit.
- the Grow Digital Voucher through the Mayo office: half the cost of software and digital tools for small businesses.
- the Energy Efficiency Grant for Mayo firms: help with the cost of cutting your energy bills.
- the Wage Subsidy Scheme for Mayo 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 Mayo? 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 Mayo?
It is at Mayo House, Moneen Road, Castlebar, F23 N504. It is open Monday to Friday, 9am to 1pm and 2pm to 5pm. Phone 094 9064299 or email info@leo.mayococo.ie.
Can a shop or cafe in Mayo get a LEO grant?
Not the main cash grants. The Feasibility, Priming and Business Expansion grants from LEO Mayo are for manufacturing and internationally traded services businesses with up to 10 employees, and the office says it cannot give grant aid to retail, personal and professional services, construction or local services that duplicate existing businesses. It can help them with mentoring, training and advice, subject to its budget. 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.
Does Mayo County Council give grants to businesses?
Mostly through rates. The Small Business Support Scheme gives 5% off 2026 rates for a property valued at €42,500 or less, if you paid by 31 July 2026 or by direct debit, and it is applied automatically. Ratepayers who got revaluation support in 2025 get it again in 2026, up to €2,000. Owners of vacant property can claim 90% relief. We found no shop front grant and no rates incentive for opening in a vacant premises for 2026.
Who helps with a Back to Work Enterprise Allowance business plan in Mayo?
South West Mayo Development Company covers the Castlebar and Claremorris areas and the islands (094 9366692). Its page says your Department of Social Protection case officer first assesses your suitability and refers you, it helps you test your idea and write the business plan, and it sends the plan to your case officer. Mayo North East (094 9256745) covers north and east Mayo and advises on business plans and paperwork. A Deciding Officer in the Department makes the decision.
Is LEADER funding open in Mayo?
Yes, for expressions of interest. South West Mayo Development Company takes them for south and west Mayo, but it says only limited funding remains and tourism accommodation has closed. Mayo North East and Moy Valley Resources take them for north and east Mayo, and IRD Kiltimagh can send one on your behalf if you live around Kiltimagh. Comhar na nOileán covers the islands.
Where this comes from
- Local Enterprise Office Mayo, contact page
- Local Enterprise Office Mayo, eligibility criteria
- Local Enterprise Office Mayo, Priming Grant
- Local Enterprise Office Mayo, financial support FAQ
- Local Enterprise Office Mayo, Evaluation and Approvals Committee
- Local Enterprise Office Mayo, Meet Mayo 2026
- Local Enterprise Offices, Grow Digital Voucher
- Local Enterprise Offices, Energy Efficiency Grant
- Mayo County Council, commercial rates
- Mayo County Council, Small Business Support Scheme 2026
- Mayo County Council, Revaluation Business Support 2026
- Mayo County Council, abatement of rates on vacant properties 2026
- Mayo County Council, Castlebar Municipal District Shopfront Grant Scheme 2024 (PDF)
- gov.ie, LEADER Local Action Groups and implementing partners 2023 to 2027
- gov.ie, LEADER Local Action Groups contact details
- South West Mayo Development Company, LEADER
- South West Mayo Development Company, self-employment supports
- Mayo North East, LEADER 2023 to 2027
- Mayo North East, Back to Work Enterprise Allowance
- Mayo North East, contact details
- Moy Valley Resources, LEADER
- IRD Kiltimagh, LEADER
- Comhar na nOileán, LEADER 2023 to 2027
- gov.ie, Back to Work Enterprise Allowance
- Údarás na Gaeltachta, the Mayo Gaeltacht
- Western Development Commission, about us (the seven western counties)
- 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.