Almost 5,000 Cork businesses to share €18m Power Up grant windfall 

Almost 5,000 businesses across Cork city and county have been approved for grant aid totalling €18m under the Power Up scheme.

The scheme supports businesses in the retail, hospitality and beauty sectors to deal with risings costs.

In a response to a Dáil question from Fianna Fáil Cork Couth Central TD Seamus McGrath, Peter Burke, the minister for enterprise, said that more than €400m was paid to SMEs across the country under the Increased Cost of Business and Power Up grant schemes.

“In Cork city, 1,815 businesses registered for the Power Up grant, to the value of €7m,” Mr Burke said.

“In Cork county, 2,844 businesses registered for the Power Up grant and 2,804 businesses were approved to the value of €11.2m.”

Positive

Mr McGrath said the response showed the volume of applications and the amount of funding, describing the Power Up grant as a positive support for businesses.

However, he said that a number of business did not receive the grant for various reasons.

“Businesses that made a genuine mistake in ticking the wrong box for the wrong business category didn’t receive the grant and that’s something I believe should be corrected and I am following up with the minister directly,” Mr McGrath said.

“Also, there were businesses that didn’t receive the Increased Cost of Business Number 2 last year, and also did not receive the Power Up grant, because a condition of the Power Up grant was that you had to have received the ICOB2.

“I think that’s unfair on businesses, because there are reasons businesses didn’t receive the ICOB2, so linking it to that grant was unfair, I think, and that’s also something I’m trying to pursue,” Mr McGrath said.