Shop front grants: what each council pays towards painting, signs and new shopfronts

How shop front grants work

A council sets aside a fund, usually once a year, and invites businesses to apply. The schemes go by different names: shop front, shopfront, streetscape, facade or paint scheme. The pattern is much the same everywhere.

• The grant is a share of the cost, most often 50%, up to a fixed ceiling for each kind of work.
• You apply first, with a quote. The council approves a figure in writing.
• You do the work and pay for it.
• You send in paid invoices and photos. The council may inspect, then pays the grant.

Funds are limited and can run out. South Dublin says its scheme may close without notice if the year's budget is used up, and Longford says approvals depend on money being left when your application is assessed.

Your own county's page lists what we found for your council. You can look up your county's council and enterprise office there.

2026 schemes we could verify

We opened each council's own page on 3 October 2026. This is not every council in the country. If yours is missing, we did not find a 2026 scheme page we could check.

A closed scheme is still worth knowing about. Dublin City Council says its Ballymun and Finglas scheme usually launches in March each year, and Cork County funded 119 applicants in 2026 and 111 properties in 2025.

Who qualifies, and who is left out

• Independent businesses. Louth gives no grants to businesses that are part of a national or international chain. Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown does not accept large chains and multiples. South Dublin's scheme is for independently owned shops.
• The right street. Many schemes cover only certain areas: two parts of the city in Dublin, Salthill and three conservation areas in Galway, the core retail area in Longford, town centres in Waterford.
• Rates up to date. South Dublin, Louth and Dublin City all want commercial rates paid, or a payment plan that is being kept.
• Tenants. A tenant can apply with the owner's written consent in Louth and South Dublin.
• Not derelict. Louth pays nothing on a property that is on the Derelict Sites Register.

Galway's 2026 scheme was open to independent retail and hospitality businesses. Most of the others simply say businesses or commercial premises, so a cafe, salon or office with a street front is not ruled out.

How to apply, step by step

1. Find your council's scheme and its closing date. Many 2026 schemes opened between March and May.
2. Read the council's shopfront design guide if it has one. Louth, South Dublin, Kildare and Galway all publish one, and their schemes refer to it.
3. Ask the planning office whether the work needs permission. Do this before you apply.
4. Get your quotes and take photos of the front as it is now.
5. Send the form. Wait for the written approval before you spend anything.
6. Do the work inside the time allowed, then send paid invoices and photos of the finished front.

What you have to send

The forms are short. What councils ask for with them:

• photographs of the existing shopfront
• written quotes. Louth asks for one, Kildare for two contractor quotes, Cork County for three
• your colour scheme, marked on a colour chart, if you are painting
• a sketch or example of the new sign, or a drawing of the new shopfront
• the tax reference number of your painter or builder in Louth, or your own tax clearance certificate in South Dublin
• your landlord's permission if you rent
• the planning permission, or confirmation from the planning office that none is needed

Planning permission and old buildings

Louth's guidelines warn that virtually all works that alter the exterior of a building need planning permission, and that a decision takes about two months. South Dublin says most of the work its scheme covers may not need permission, but tells applicants to check with its planning department first.

If the building is a protected structure or is in an Architectural Conservation Area, talk to the planning office before you touch it. Louth says a business that gets a grant and is then found in breach of planning rules will be asked to pay the grant back.

If the floors over the shop are empty, a separate State scheme pays far more than any shop front grant. See the grants for turning empty space over a shop into homes.

What goes wrong

• Starting too soon. South Dublin, Kildare, Dublin City and Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown do not pay for work or spending that came before the application or its approval. Louth is the exception: it will consider work finished in the last six months.
• Changing the plan. Louth pays nothing if you change the design or materials without agreeing it first.
• Doing it yourself. In Louth you are paid for materials only. Cork County's scheme paid 100% of paint and materials for owners doing the work themselves.
• Applying again too soon. Louth allows one claim per category every five years.
• Missing the window. Several of these schemes were open for only a few weeks.

A new business moving into an empty unit should also check whether the council will give back part of its rates.

Common questions

Shop front schemes, county by county

• shop front schemes in Carlow
• shop front schemes in Cavan
• shop front schemes in Clare
• shop front schemes in Cork
• shop front schemes in Donegal
• shop front schemes in Dublin
• shop front schemes in Galway
• shop front schemes in Kerry
• shop front schemes in Kildare
• shop front schemes in Kilkenny
• shop front schemes in Laois
• shop front schemes in Leitrim
• shop front schemes in Limerick
• shop front schemes in Longford
• shop front schemes in Louth
• shop front schemes in Mayo
• shop front schemes in Meath
• shop front schemes in Monaghan
• shop front schemes in Offaly
• shop front schemes in Roscommon
• shop front schemes in Sligo
• shop front schemes in Tipperary
• shop front schemes in Waterford
• shop front schemes in Westmeath
• shop front schemes in Wexford
• shop front schemes in Wicklow