SME supports and schemes in 2023

“There is plenty of support out there if you know where to look. Make sure your accountant is aware of these and working with you to identify opportunities.” Paul O’Donovan in our recent blog on cashflow management.

Most COVID schemes have now finished but, for Irish businesses looking for funding and support in 2023, there are still plenty of options to investigate. Alice Flynn, junior manager at the firm, suggests starting with these:

• TBESS scheme – save up to 40% of increased winter energy costs with the Temporary Business Energy Support Scheme (TBESS), which will assist Irish businesses with their energy costs during the winter months. 
• Debt Warehousing – further extended for some businesses until 1 May 2024. No interest will be payable up to 30 April 2023 and a reduced interest rate of 3% year will apply from 1 May 2023. Businesses have until 1 May 2024 to enter into an arrangement to clear the debt.
• Energy Efficiency Loan Scheme (EELS) – a low-cost scheme designed to support eligible SMEs, including primary producers in agriculture and fishers, investing in the energy efficiency of their enterprises.
• Enterprise Ireland offer a wide range of supports including the Key Manager grant and Ukraine Enterprise Crisis Scheme.
• Growth and Sustainability Loan Scheme, to be delivered by the Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland (SBCI) through participating finance providers. The €500m Scheme will make competitively priced loans of between €25k and €3 million available to SMEs, including farmers and fishers and small mid-caps, for terms of up to ten years, with loans of up to €500k available unsecured. The scheme will target a minimum of 30% of the lending volume towards environmental sustainability purposes. The aim is to encourage SMEs to take positive actions in support of the climate change agenda. Further details on this will be available soon. 

In addition to these schemes, Alice notes, other measures are in operation. For example,  the VAT rate for the hospitality and tourism sector will remain at the decreased rate of 9% until 28 February 2023. The 9% VAT rate was also introduced for gas and electricity on 1 May 2022 – it was due to expire on 31 October 2022, but has now been extended to 28 February 2023. 

To get the best results, Alice recommends talking to a specialist who understands both your business and the complexities of the supports available. 

For more information on supports you can contact your own accountant or reach out to her at Alice@paulodonovan.ie.