Local Enterprise Office Tipperary
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 Tipperary office can and cannot fund.
Local Enterprise Office Tipperary
- Address
- Ballingarrane House, Cahir Road, Clonmel, Co. Tipperary, E91 E183. Second office: Civic Offices, Limerick Road, Nenagh, Co. Tipperary, E45 A099
- Phone
- 0818 06 5000
- leo@tipperarycoco.ie
- Website
- localenterprise.ie/Tipperary
- How to apply
- Online portal. You meet the office's business adviser first to go through the project. If it may qualify, you apply through the online form for the Feasibility, Priming or Business Expansion grant and send the supporting documents. No closing dates are published. The Evaluation Committee usually meets every six weeks and gets the papers a week before.
- 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 Tipperary County Council offers
50% of the approved cost of the works, up to a maximum of €500
Owners of shops and other buildings in the scheme areas of Clonmel, Cashel, Thurles, Templemore and Roscrea. Each Municipal District runs its own scheme for painting, shop fascia signs and general improvements to building fronts. A tenant needs the owner's written consent.
Application form from the Municipal District office for the town, returned with a summary of the works. The grant is paid after the work is finished, against receipted invoices and before and after photographs.
Closed for 2026. The closing dates were 24 April (Cashel), 22 May (Clonmel) and 12 June (Thurles, Templemore and Roscrea).
We could not confirm 2026 schemes for Nenagh, Carrick-on-Suir, Tipperary town or Cahir. Ask your Municipal District office.
A grant against your commercial rates for three years, capped at €5,000 a year. In a prime retail area it is 90%, 40% and 20% of the rates. In a town centre or one of the 35 service-centre villages it is 50%, 35% and 25%. Elsewhere in the county it is 40%, 30% and 20%. You pay your share of the rates first and the grant is set against the rest of the bill.
A new retail, office or service business that has not traded in County Tipperary in the previous two years, moving into a rated premises that was vacant and on the market for at least three months. You need a lease of at least 12 months or proof of ownership, and must apply within 12 months of moving in. Franchises can apply.
Online application through the council's Submit portal, with a fresh application for each of the three years. Queries go to cvis@tipperarycoco.ie or 0818 06 5000.
Taking applications. The online form showed no closing date when we checked. The published terms are dated May 2021 and no 2026 update is on the council's page, so confirm the current terms with the council.
7% off your rates bill, up to a maximum of €700
Ratepayers whose commercial rates bills for 2026 total €29,000 or less and who paid in full by 31 July 2026. Direct debit payers have until September, and the reduction is applied to the September payment. Vacant properties do not qualify, and neither do businesses on the Commercial Vacancy Incentive Scheme.
The council's page describes no application form. It applies the discount when the bill is paid on time. If you have arrears, you can still qualify by paying at least the 2026 amount by the deadline and agreeing a payment plan.
The 31 July 2026 payment date has passed. Direct debit customers had until September 2026.
Cash grants of €300 to €3,000 for Christmas advertising, promotions, street entertainment and events that bring shoppers into Tipperary towns and villages. It is for town centre teams, trader associations, chambers of commerce, community groups, farmers' markets and craft markets, not for a single shop. Apply online by 28 October 2026.
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 Tipperary
LEADER pays grants to rural businesses and community groups. In Tipperary it is delivered by 2 local groups, and their staff help you put an application together.
North Tipperary: the Nenagh and Thurles Municipal Districts
Ask for an expression of interest form by phone or email. A Rural Development Officer checks whether the idea is eligible before you are invited to apply.
Phone: 067 56676
South Tipperary: the Tipperary-Cahir-Cashel and Carrick-on-Suir Municipal Districts and Clonmel Borough District
Contact a Project Development Officer first to talk through the project. The expression of interest form is on its website.
Phone: 052 7442652
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.
North Tipperary. Offices in Nenagh, Thurles and Roscrea
Phone: 067 56676
South Tipperary. Head office in Cahir, with outreach offices in Tipperary town, Clonmel, Cashel, Carrick-on-Suir and Killenaule
Phone: 052 7442652
Also in Tipperary
- The nearest New Frontiers programme for early-stage founders is at Technological University of the Shannon, Limerick campus (Hartnett Enterprise Acceleration Centre), which lists Tipperary in its catchment.
Good to know in Tipperary
Local Enterprise Office Tipperary works from two offices, Ballingarrane House in Clonmel and the Civic Offices in Nenagh, with one phone number, 0818 06 5000. You meet its business adviser before you apply, and the grant forms are online. It publishes no closing dates. Its Evaluation Committee usually meets every six weeks.
Tipperary County Council's Rates Payment Incentive Scheme took 7% off 2026 rates bills of €29,000 or less, up to €700, for those who paid in full by 31 July 2026. A new business in a vacant unit can instead use Tipperary's Commercial Vacancy Incentive Scheme, which covers up to 90% of the first year's rates in a prime retail area, capped at €5,000 a year. You cannot have both.
The council's Municipal Districts run painting and shop front grants in Tipperary towns: 50% of the cost, up to €500. The 2026 rounds for Cashel, Clonmel, Thurles, Templemore and Roscrea closed between April and June. The Christmas Retail Support Programme 2026 is open until 28 October 2026, but only to groups such as trader associations and chambers of commerce.
LEADER funding in Tipperary is split in two. North Tipperary Development Company covers the Nenagh and Thurles districts and South Tipperary Development Company covers the rest of the county. A business can get up to 75% of the cost of a capital project, to a maximum of €150,000. LEADER there does not fund conventional retail, wages, stock or websites.
What every business in Tipperary can apply for
- Microfinance Ireland loans for Tipperary 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 Tipperary: keep your welfare payment for two years while you start a business.
- the Short-Term Enterprise Allowance in Tipperary: the same idea for people on Jobseeker's Benefit.
- the Grow Digital Voucher through the Tipperary office: half the cost of software and digital tools for small businesses.
- the Energy Efficiency Grant for Tipperary firms: help with the cost of cutting your energy bills.
- the Wage Subsidy Scheme for Tipperary 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 Tipperary? 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 Clonmel and Nenagh?
The Clonmel office is in Ballingarrane House, Cahir Road, Clonmel, E91 E183. The Nenagh office is in the Civic Offices, Limerick Road, Nenagh, E45 A099. Both open Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm. Phone 0818 06 5000 or email leo@tipperarycoco.ie.
Can a shop or cafe in Tipperary get a LEO grant?
Usually no. The cash grants from Local Enterprise Office Tipperary are for manufacturing and internationally traded services businesses with up to 10 staff. Retail, personal services, professional services and local building services are excluded. 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 rates discount and vacancy scheme, LEO mentoring and training, and a Microfinance Ireland loan are also open to them.
Does Tipperary County Council give grants to businesses?
Yes. Its Commercial Vacancy Incentive Scheme gives a new business in a vacant unit a grant against rates for three years, capped at €5,000 a year. Its Rates Payment Incentive Scheme took 7% off 2026 bills of €29,000 or less that were paid by 31 July. Its Municipal Districts pay up to €500 towards painting a shop front, though the 2026 rounds have closed. The Christmas Retail Support Programme pays €300 to €3,000 to trader groups, not single shops.
Who helps with a Back to Work Enterprise Allowance business plan in Tipperary?
North Tipperary Development Company (067 56676) in the north of the county and South Tipperary Development Company (052 7442652) in the south. South Tipperary Development Company says it helps people develop the business plan and take part in a Start Your Own Business training programme. You must be on a jobseeker's payment and be assessed by the Department of Social Protection, which then refers you.
Is the Commercial Vacancy Incentive Scheme still open in Tipperary?
The council's online application form was live, with no closing date, when we checked on 3 October 2026. The terms on the council's website are dated May 2021 and it has not published a 2026 update. Email cvis@tipperarycoco.ie before you sign a lease. The premises must have been vacant and on the market for at least three months, and you must apply within 12 months of moving in.
Where this comes from
- Local Enterprise Office Tipperary, contact page
- Local Enterprise Office Tipperary, the application process
- Local Enterprise Office Tipperary, Evaluation and Approvals Committee
- Local Enterprise Office Tipperary, Priming Grant application form
- Local Enterprise Offices, eligibility criteria for financial supports
- Local Enterprise Offices, Grow Digital Voucher
- Local Enterprise Offices, Energy Efficiency Grant
- Tipperary County Council, Business Incentive Scheme Grant (Commercial Vacancy Incentive Scheme)
- Tipperary County Council, terms and detailed conditions of the Commercial Vacancy Incentive Scheme (PDF)
- Tipperary County Council, Commercial Vacancy Incentive Scheme online application
- Tipperary County Council, commercial rates and the 2026 Rates Payment Incentive Scheme
- Tipperary County Council, Clonmel Town Centre Enhancement and Painting Grant Scheme 2026
- Tipperary County Council, Thurles Municipal District Enhancement and Painting Grant 2026
- Tipperary County Council, Cashel Town Centre Enhancement and Painting Grant Scheme 2026 (PDF)
- Tipperary County Council, Christmas Retail Support Programme 2026
- Department of Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht, 2023 to 2027 LEADER Programme information leaflet (PDF)
- Tipperary County Council, Rural Development (LEADER) Programme
- North Tipperary Development Company, LEADER 2023 to 2027
- North Tipperary Development Company, SICAP 2024 to 2028
- North Tipperary Development Company, contact details
- South Tipperary Development Company, LEADER 2023 to 2027
- South Tipperary Development Company, Start Your Own Business (SICAP)
- South Tipperary Development Company, 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.