Dáil Éireann Debate, Monday - 11 September 2023
557. Deputy Jim O'Callaghan asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if he will detail in tabular form, by county (or local authority), the number of businesses that have been approved for the new energy efficiency grant; and the estimated total value of the support of the grant in each county (or local authority area). [37585/23]
View answerThe Energy Efficiency Grant (EEG) was launched in May this year by the Local Enterprise Offices and provides financial support for small businesses to become more sustainable and to make a significant contribution to reducing their energy output and carbon emissions.
The EEG is available to businesses who through participation in the Green for Micro/Business, GreenStart or SEAI Energy Audit programmes, have identified technologies and equipment to make their businesses more energy efficient. The grant will cover up to 50% of the total costs up to a maximum amount of €5,000.
The launch of the EEG is a follow on to the successful Green for Micro programme, recently renamed Green for Business to reflect the broadening of the eligibility criteria to support businesses with up to 50 employees. It allows companies to avail of technical and/or advisory supports for 2 days from external experts across a broad range of activities from resource efficiency to understanding their carbon footprint to implementing a sustainability strategy. Since its launch in March 2021, 1,045 small businesses have availed of this support. Small businesses also have the option to avail of the Green Start support which is a more in-depth engagement with an expert for up to 7 days.
National and local publicity campaigns are taking place to promote the EEG and the LEOs report strong interest. To date there have been 7 approvals awarded by Carlow, Galway and Mayo LEOs with a total grant value of €17, 529.
However there is a relatively strong pipeline of applications across the country and it is expected that this figure will increase significantly over the coming weeks and months.
