Government announces Restart Grant for small businesses
The Government has announced details of the new €250m Restart Grant, which will give direct grant aid to micro and small businesses to help them with the costs associated with reopening and re-employing workers following Covid-19 closures.
The scheme opened for applications last Friday, 22 May.
The grant will be available to businesses with a turnover of less than €5m and employing 50 people or less, which were closed or impacted by at least a 25% reduction in turnover out to 30 June 2020. It is a contribution towards the cost of reopening or keeping a business operational and reconnecting with employees and customers. The grants will be equivalent to the rates bill of the business in 2019, with a minimum payment of €2,000 and a maximum payment of €10,000.
“I am acutely aware of the difficulties facing small businesses during these challenging times. The Restart Grant is designed to help small businesses get back on their feet,” said Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation Heather Humphreys.
“The grant can be used to defray ongoing fixed costs, for replenishing stock and for measures needed to ensure employee and customer safety. Small businesses, whether it the local hairdresser, café or clothes shop, are absolutely vital to the social fabric of our towns and villages throughout the country. These businesses have made huge sacrifices to protect their employees and customers during Covid-19 and we want to help them get back up and running so that they can return to viability and contribute to the national economic recovery. These are small grants but they can make a big difference in terms of giving businesses an extra helping hand to open their doors again.”
The Government said that processing of applications and payment of the Restart Grant will depend on the initial surge of applications but, as far as is feasible, will be prioritised according to scheduled reopening dates in the national roadmap.
The direct grant support is part of the wider €12bn package of supports for firms of all sizes, which includes grants, low-cost loans, write-off of commercial rates and deferred tax liabilities, all of which aim to help to improve cashflow amongst the country’s SMEs.
