Don’t leave money on the table: Grants and funding for SMEs in Ireland in 2026 

Enterprise Ireland, SBCI, LEO and R&D: Irish businesses seeking funding and support in 2026 should investigate all their options.

Many Irish businesses, and particularly SMEs, are often overlooking government support they should be accessing. While some Irish businesses are using government supports to grow and scale, a significant number still leaving money and resources on the table, says Paul O’Donovan. 

There are substantial grants available from Enterprise Ireland (EI) and IDA Ireland. The R&D tax credit, which was increased in the last budget, is another underused resource.

Many businesses are not fully aware of or exploring available grants and funds. It can be tricky knowing what applies but talking to an expert can ease the complexity.

Cristina O’Sullivan specialises in supporting our SME clients in this area. Here’s her overview of key grants and funding in 2026.

Enterprise Ireland

Enterprise Ireland offer a wide range of supports including the very popular Key Manager and Capital grants. 

• Key Manager grant – up to €150,000 to cover salary costs of a key manager position.
• LeanPlus grant up to €50,000 available to hire an external coach to implement process innovations.
• Operational Excellence grant up to €100,000 for larger scale projects investments in new production equipment, processing and training.
• Grants up to €5,000 to access external advisory services and address a critical business need advice in the areas of sustainability, culture improvement, strategic challenges, Intellectual Property advisory, new technology support.
• Climate Action Voucher grant up to €1,800 for up to 2 days of sustainability training and advisory.
• Cyber Security Review Grant up to €3,000
• Digital Marketing Grant (max €35,000) to improve company’s online presence through engaging a digital marketing agency
• Employment Funding Support (max €15,000 per employee) in recruiting min 3 new employees
• Capital Investment for Decarbonisation (max €1m, min €20,000) as incentive for companies to invest in carbon reducing technologies
• Enterprise Emissions Reduction Investment Fund – up to €50,000 for manufacturing companies client of EI, have 10 or more full time employees and have been generating sales for at least 5 years.
• Exploring Innovation Grant max €35,000 for investigating the technical feasibility of an R&D project
• GradStart up to €30,000 to hire 3 graduates at any one time for a full-time contract with a duration of 24 months.
• GreenPlus grant max €50,000 to hire an external environmental expert
• Innovation Voucher up to €10,000 worth of time with an expert to help develop an idea or product or crack a technical challenge.

SBCI( Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland)

• Green Transition Finance – loans for SMEs min €500k, max €5m, up to 10 years for investments in green and sustainable projects such as energy efficiency, renewable energy, zero and low emissions, organic agriculture
• Growth and Sustainability Loan Scheme, delivered by SBCI through participating finance providers. The €500m Scheme makes 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. This scheme will operate until 30 June 2026 or until it is fully subscribed.

LEO (Local Enterprise Office)

• Feasibility Study Grants up to €15,000 designed to assist SMEs with researching market demand for a product or service for sustainability
• Priming Grants up to €150,000 for micro enterprises business withing the first 18 months of start-up .
• Business Expansion Grants up to €150,000 to assist businesses in the growth phase with capital items, salary costs, consultancy.
• R&D Supports for research, development and technological innovations

R&D tax credit changes in 2026

The amount of tax relief available rose from 30% in 2025 to 35% in 2026. The threshold for first-year refunds has now increased to €87,500 to support smaller projects.

The relief allows businesses undertaking research to claim back a percentage of the total costs of their activities in cash or against their corporation tax bill in annual instalments. Many businesses overlook the credit because they think they aren’t going to qualify but in reality, the definition is quite broad.