Businesses reminded to apply for ICOB grant of up to €5,000 before tomorrow's deadline

Attention all rate payers! You could have your rates bill halved, but you only have until tomorrow, May 1, to apply.

If your rates bill last year was between €10,000 and €30,000 you could get a one-time grant of €5,000, but you must hurry.

Westmeath is the first local authority in the country to implement the scheme. They have written twice to the 1,915 rate payers who qualify, of which 1,139 have responded and to date €347,000 has been paid out to 177 rate payers.

This grant is a one-time financial aid to help businesses with increased costs of running a business. Businesses must register and provide a self-declaration and their bank details by tomorrow.

Details of the scheme were outlined by Jimmy Dalton, head of finance with the Council, at a meeting yesterday, Monday.