New figures show Waterford SME funding lags across South East
Figures revealed by Minister for Enterprise Peter Burke in the Dáil shows SMEs in Waterford lag behind their South East counterparts for grant uptake.
Figures from Minister for Enterprise Peter Burke show Waterford ranked 23rd out of 31 local authorities in a national list for SME funding in 2025.
Waterford City and County Council’s SMEs received €182,751 from the Power Up Grant and ICOB reclassification schemes from a national distribution of €12,372,353 (1.48% share).
Applications for The Power Up Grant and the ICOB (Increased Cost of Business) scheme closed in 2024. €400 million was distributed nationwide.
Applications for funding were reopened in July 2025 for businesses that had applied for the incorrect sector in 2024. 40 applications were made across the Waterford City and County Council local authority, with 29 approved successfully.
The Power Up Grant scheme offered a €4,000 grant for businesses in the hospitality, retail, and beauty sectors, while ICOB was a grant of up to €5,000 based on a business’s commercial rates.
Neighbouring South East counties Kilkenny, Tipperary, and Wexford all received more funding. Carlow received €138,405.
Dublin County Council received the largest amount of funding, with €2.75 million spread across 428 successful applications. Longford stood at the end of the table, with just €25,000 of funding, or .2% of the national share.
