29 October 2020
By Elaine Murphy
elaine@TheCork.ie
Govt injects extra funding into COVID19 ‘Restart grants’
Cork County Council has been supporting and assisting businesses in County Cork to deal with the challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic through the Restart Grant Scheme. A total of €33.9m has been allocated to the local authority by the Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation for the Restart Grant and Restart Grant Plus schemes and a new phase of the scheme that is now available.
The Business Restart Plus Scheme provides direct grant aid of between €4,000 and €25,000 or a maximum of €15,000 for businesses awarded the full €10,000 under the original Restart Grant Scheme. Applications for this second phase of the grant, the Restart Plus, are closing on October 31st and a further phase has now been made available, the so called “Wet Pub Top Up” and the “Phase 3 Lockdown top up”.
Mayor of the County of Cork Cllr Mary Linehan Foley urged businesses who have not applied for the Restart Plus grant to do so without delay,
“these are extremely challenging times for commerce and if your business meets the criteria, its vital that you get your application in as soon as possible, this phase of the scheme closes October 31st. Cork County Council is committed to offering real support to our county’s businesses and have provided a dedicated helpdesk to assist you with any queries in relation to your application.”
Chief Executive of Cork County Council, Tim Lucey, added,
“Cork County Council continues to receive and process applications and to date €23,938,000 has been awarded to Cork businesses to support them through Covid-19 related difficulties. It is critical that potential applicants proactively apply for the scheme as soon as possible, to facilitate use of the grants by the businesses themselves but also to enable efficient processing of them by Cork County Council.”
Tim Lucey, Chief Executive, Cork County Council is encouraging businesses to apply for the scheme
Pic: Brian Lougheed
Cork County Council’s Business Restart Grant Scheme’s dedicated helpdesk is available to assist with queries on 021 4208000 or by email to restartfund@corkcoco.ie. Applications for the scheme can be made on www.yourcouncil.ie
Cork County Council has contacted all successful applicants under the first two phases of the scheme individually in the past week reminding them to apply for this new phase. Any future approved applicants will also be advised of the grants available.
