Danny Healy-Rae presses minister on business grant appeals

Thank you. Thank you very much. Minister, I'm glad to get the opportunity to discuss with you the promise appeal process which was to happen for business grants, where businesses were misclassified. And to include, of course, the power-up grant. And I suppose Minister, what I'm asking you is when will this appeals process begin, because in the last few days we've been on to our local authority and they haven't been informed of any appeal process. They're not sure if it's going to happen. And I suppose in addition to those who qualified, retail, hospitality and beauty, there were other businesses that felt that they were wrongly excluded from the ICOB and the power-up grant. You know, there was garages, body shops, plantar repairs, all paying rates. And they felt they weren't included. They didn't know about it. And that's the other thing. Other businesses in the first ones weren't aware of it. And I'm only wondering, can they be considered? I know it says that they came in last year, March 24 to May 25 was this. The 29th was the period where people could apply. And that was for the ICOB grant. And eligible businesses will receive a once-off grant as a contribution towards the rising cost faced by businesses. And indeed, the rising cost of rates, because around that time and maybe the year before, Tarte revalued and reclassified people's properties and increased the rates very much. And sometimes two and three times what they were used to paying. And yes, the government did great work in introducing this business grant as a once-off payment. And I suppose we're worried how people will contend with the rates bills that they are to receive. And you see, those that qualified for the ICOB grant, those who didn't qualify for that, subsequently didn't qualify for the Power Up grant in October. And as I said to you, some businesses were wrongly misclassified. And it's very important that we try to ensure and give these people surety that we'll eventually get paid as soon as possible. And that's why I'm raising this here today. We were promised around the 1st of May. I think you were the question yourself, and that was the answer who got, or the answer who gave, that we were to be, that it was to be brought in very shortly after that. Minister, I'm asking you to make clear here this morning, because so many people are on, they're under financial pressure. I don't know what's happening. Many people are under financial pressure that they have never been used to, or have never been under before. I suppose it's the cost of everything, it's the cost of materials and supplies, and Brexit isn't helping. And I'm asking you to give surety, or to tell me what's happening here this morning. Thank you very much. Thank you very much. Thank you very much. Thank you very much. Firstly, I'd like to thank Deputy Healy Ray for raising this important issue. Last year, Deputy, the Government introduced two business support schemes that were designed by my department and administered by the local authorities. The Increase the Cost of Business scheme was launched back in March 2024, and delivered in two phases. The first phase was a broad scheme that distributed over €154 million to 75,000 SMEs to all sectors of the economy, in recognition of the higher costs of doing business. The second phase was targeted specifically at businesses operating in those sectors that were most impacted by increasing costs, which were focused within retail, hospitality and the beauty businesses. Almost 39,000 SMEs in those sectors received their second ICAB payment, and a total of €90 million was paid out through the second phase of the ICAB in 2024. As part of Budget 2025 last October, and in recognition of the continued high energy costs, our Department introduced the Power Up Grant. Under this scheme, over 39,000 SMEs in the retail hospitality sector received a flat grant of €4,000 in the final months of the year. In total, over €158 million has been paid out through the Power Up Grant. Taken together, the grant schemes paid out over €400 million to small and family-owned businesses right across the country in a very short period. Following the launch of the Power Up, the Department and Local Authorities became aware of issues where many businesses were misclassified their business sector, and were subsequently not eligible for the second ICAB payment and the Power Up Grant. To address this, the Government recently approved an appeals process that will give those businesses in the retail, hospitality and beauty sector, that were not eligible for ICAB and the Power Up Grant, because of the misclassification issue, the opportunity to register for these grants. I must re-emphasise, Deputy Deputy, this is not a re-opening of the grant scheme, this is designed solely to allow those who were originally misclassified the opportunity to register for the grants. Subject to the agreements with the local authority, we are working extensively with many of the enterprise and LEOs, that is extended to open the appeals as soon as possible, and local authorities will contact their eligible businesses. They are currently working through those who were misclassified, who did not receive ICAB 2, and indeed we will inform them of the necessary steps for them to reapply for ICAB 2 and the Power Up Grant in the coming period. Mr. Minister, I am a bit confused now, because you said that, first of all, I want to thank the Government, of course, for bringing in these two schemes, and I want to thank our local authority, and I suppose all the local authorities around the country, for the great work that they carried out in delivering those grants to the people involved and the people that have applied. But you said to me there that they are working through, at present, that they are working through the misclassification applications at the minute. And at the same time, our local authority said they hadn't heard anything about the appeals process, or were not made aware of it, so I am a bit confused there. And as for the other thing that I have to say to you, you are saying that it is not a reopening, I suppose, but there was many people didn't know, actually know about the scheme, the force scheme in particular, and then when they hadn't applied for that, obviously they weren't entirely applied for the second one, or they weren't, they didn't fit the criteria. So I am concerned about that, and again I ask you to say, is there any way that those people can be accommodated, and maybe people that felt aggrieved that they weren't considered in the first place, because they were in neither of the three categories that were outlined at the start. So I still say to you that many people are facing fierce financial pressure at the minute, and I know that the government is under tremendous pressure as well, but these people are the backbone of rural communities, and some of them sadly have departed. The scene last year, a lot of small companies couldn't carry on, and I wonder about them, would it have helped them? I am sure it would have helped them, but again I say to you, if you could consider reopening the scheme to accommodate those who have been left out. Thanks Deputy Minister. Again, thank you Deputy for raising this important issue. As I outlined, my department is actively working with the local authorities, with the LGMA, to finalise the details of the appeals process. This process will allow businesses who are misclassified to have their cases reviewed where appropriate, and access to the supports. It is a priority of our department. We want to ensure that we do everything possible to ensure that the appeals process commence without delay. We need to get it right, and we are finalising that with local authorities, and we will contact eligible businesses on that regard. If you remember ICAB 1 over 75,000 SMEs registered, and basically they were given a flat payment. For ICAB 2, 39,000 were eligible. Indeed, it is to determine how many of those who were ineligible were eligible, and I think that work is currently being undertaken. Certainly, this government recognises the vital role that SMEs plays within our local economies, within our town and villages, and I am sure you have been a big advocate of the SMEs within Kerry. We want to ensure that we can alleviate some of the significant pressures, and I think that is the importance of ensuring that these do get a cash injection. Indeed, we did make particular focus on retail, on hospitality, and on the beauty sectors, because these were the most impacted. And we have a paper that was commissioned by our department in terms of the rising operational costs, and that did identify the greatest cumulative burden on those sectors who faced real cost change in regulatory burden. So, we will continue to ensure that our department continues to work with local authorities, and that there is a speedy process here to deliver for those businesses who need it most. So, I is ready. So, of course, we are now tratting the unemployment thatงEPRics are ever needed to continue. So, we look at the