Further work is being carried out to deliver the €250m budget scheme designed to help small firms with their soaring costs, and the spending will be paid out in the early months of next year, the Department of Enterprise has said.
The Increased Costs of Business Scheme was unveiled as the Government's centrepiece spending incentive for SMEs in the budget, but business groups said the Government had not worked through all the issues.
In total, €250m has been set aside for the grant and targeted at companies that pay commercial rates of up to €20,000 a year.
Under the grant, these businesses would be entitled to a refund of 50% of their rates, which means a maximum refund of €10,000.
The department added that it is working with the Department of Local Government as well as local authorities to “finalise the details of the grant in the coming weeks”.
However, business groups reiterated their concerns about the way the scheme will work.
Neil McDonnell, chief executive of Isme, said the complexities may involve small firms having to apply to several local authorities, while other SMEs which are exempt from paying commercial rates may get no help with their soaring costs.
The Vintners' Federation of Ireland repeated that it was unhappy with the €20,000 ceiling under the scheme.
Separately, the Department of Finance published the Finance Bill that prepares the tax provisions under the budget to be brought into law.
Finance Minister Michael McGrath said the bill will also usher in the new 15% minimum corporate tax rate for large companies.
The Government in recent years signed up to the initiative driven by the Organisation of Economic Cooperation Development and the G7 countries.