A number of Tipperary businesses are locked out of the Power-Up scheme which was introduced in Budget 2025.
This is the claim made in the Dáil today by local TD Mattie McGrath who says the criteria given to local authorities like Tipperary County Council is unworkable and unfair.
He called on Alan Dillon – the Minister of State for Small Business and Retail & Circular Economy – to look at reforming the €4,000 grant to assist businesses in hospitality, retail and beauty sectors.
“Simple issues like the classification of businesses at the application stage could and should have been changed by now and many are locked out of them. For example some Post Offices in my constituency have got three rounds of Cost of Business support grants while others have been excluded purely because of misleading information on the application forms.
“The Department has not reopened the portal to allow businesses to reclassify their business correctly and avail of the grants and that’s totally unfair.”
Minister Dillon acknowledged the issues raised by Deputy McGrath and said the matter was being examined.
“I know how important SMEs and small businesses are within your own constituency in Tipperary. The Department is aware of the issue that you’ve raised during the Power-Up grant registration process where businesses were ineligible for the grant due to incorrect classifications. Its something that our Department are actively working on with businesses in relation to the registration. It is reviewing the issue and I will take any of the specific points that you’ve raised around Post Offices.”
