9,000 Businesses in Cork County to Benefit from Increased Cost of Business Grant

North Cork Fine Gael Councillor John Paul O’Shea has welcomed the announcement that as part of the National Budget 2024, a package of €257 million has been included for the Increased Cost Of Business (ICOB) Grant.

Cllr O’Shea said “This is a vital measure for small and medium businesses. Local Authorities funded by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment (DETE), will manage the rollout of the grant to qualifying businesses. The Local Authority sector will handle the implementation, approval and disbursement of the grant to businesses. This is a once-off grant and not a Commercial rates waiver. The Grant will be available to circa 9,000 businesses operating from a rateable premises in the County of Cork. The Scheme is targeted to benefit small-to-medium businesses. I am encouraging every business to apply”.

The qualifying criteria are:

• For qualifying businesses with a 2023 Commercial Rate bill of < €10,000, the ICOB grant will be paid at a rate of 50% of the business’s Commercial Rate bill for 2023.

• For qualifying businesses with a 2023 Commercial Rate bill of between €10,000 and €30,000, the ICOB grants will be €5,000.

• Businesses with a 2023 Commercial Rates bill greater than €30,000 are not eligible to receive an ICOB grant.

• The business must be a commercially trading business currently operating from a property that is commercially rateable.

• The business must have been trading on 1st February 2024 and it must intend to continue trading for at least three months from the date that information is verified.

• The business must provide confirmation of its bank details.

• The business must be rates compliant. Businesses in performing payment plans or with relatively small arrears may be deemed to be compliant.

• The business must be tax compliant and must possess a valid Tax Registration Number (TRN).

• There are a number of excluded business categories which are not eligible to receive the Grant.

The excluded categories are identified based on the following assumptions:

• Anything that cannot be defined as a ‘commercially trading business operating directly within a premises that is commercially rateable’ should be excluded.

• This includes, but is not limited to:

·       Public institutions do not qualify.

·       Financial institutions do not qualify, with exceptions for credit unions and post offices (i.e. larger financial institutions are excluded).

• Vacant properties do not qualify.

Where a qualifying business is currently operating from a rateable property, and that property was rateable in 2023, then that business qualifies for the grant. This is irrespective of whether that business was operating from that property in 2023 (this is to allow for instances where properties change owners/occupiers).

Current Schedule

• Manager appointed to run the process for Cork County Council.

• Platform being provided by LGMA on mycoco.ie.

• Contact Centre will field all calls and queries.

• Team of Assessors and Approvers being assembled (Finance and Economic Development)

• Website Communications in relation to ICOB issued w/c 4th March 2024.

• The ICOB Portal (mycoco.ie) accessible to businesses since 14th March.

• A letter detailing how to apply for the grant is being sent to rate payers starting on 20th March 

• Local Authorities can commence processing grants from 12th April.