Brendan Smith TD has received confirmation from the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment that an appeals process will shortly open for businesses in the retail, hospitality, and beauty sectors who were previously deemed ineligible for the Increased Cost of Business (ICOB) or Power Up grants. 

Deputy Brendan Smith welcomed the update, stating: “Many small businesses, particularly in sectors like hospitality and beauty, have been under serious pressure in recent months.  

“These grants were meant to provide urgent support, so it’s only fair that businesses wrongly left out now get a proper chance to access them. The appeals process needs to be clear, straightforward, and put in place without any further delay.” 

Deputy Smith has for some time raised the matter directly with the Minister via Parliamentary Questions, seeking clarity on when outstanding payments under the 2024 schemes would be issued. 

In his reply, the Minister confirmed that this is not a re-opening of the original grant schemes, but a targeted appeals mechanism to allow businesses that were wrongly classified to access the supports for which they were intended. 

Deputy Smith concluded: “This is an urgent issue for many small businesses. I will continue to follow up with the Minister and his Department for as long as it takes to make sure this appeals process is delivered quickly and fairly.” 

Eligible businesses will be invited to register for the grants in the same way as the original ICOB process. Once applications are reviewed and verified by Local Authorities, payments are expected to issue promptly. 

Further updates on the process will be provided by the Department and Local Authorities as implementation begins in the coming weeks.