Over €7 million paid to Mayo businesses under Increased Cost of Business scheme

More than €7 million in grants has been paid to Mayo businesses under the Increased Cost of Business (ICOB) scheme, that is, according to Minister of State Dara Calleary.

It comes as payments under the Government grant scheme reached more than €200 million nationwide to some 81,000 small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs).

The Mayo TD is ‘delighted’ that nationwide payments under the scheme have exceeded the €200 million ‘milestone’.

The ICOB grant was designed to help small and medium-sized businesses with the increased costs associated with running a business and was administered by the local authorities on behalf of the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment.

“These funds are directly helping small and medium-sized businesses across the country deal with day-to-day expenses. It’s a practical and targeted Government support,” explained Minister Calleary.

He revealed that a total of €7,120,574 worth of payments were issued to businesses across county Mayo, with 2,332 businesses receiving €4,521,183 in the first portion of payments and 1,281 businesses receiving €2,599,391 in the second.

He continued: “These are significant sums of money going directly to local businesses to assist them with ongoing challenges.”  

Nationwide over 71,000 small and medium-sized businesses have received their first payments, totalling €148 million, under the scheme. 

A further €58 million in second payments have been made, bringing the total to €205 million to date.

A total of €257 million is available under the scheme, and further payments continue to be made on a daily basis.