459. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment the number and total value of grant supports, including priming grants, feasibility grants, business expansion grants and trading online vouchers, awarded by each of the 31 local enterprise offices to businesses whose primary activity is the retail of vaping products, e-cigarettes or nicotine inhaling products, in each of the years 2020 to date, by local enterprise office; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [64768/26]

The Measure 1 LEO grant schemes, including Priming Grants, Business Expansion Grants and Feasibility Study Grants, are not generally available to retail businesses and therefore would not normally be available to businesses whose primary activity is the sale of vaping products, e-cigarettes or nicotine inhaling products. In addition, LEO policy excludes activities relating to tobacco and tobacco-related products from support under a range of grant and productivity supports.

LEO productivity and business improvement supports, including Green for Business, Digital for Business, the Energy Efficiency Grant and the Grow Digital Voucher, contain specific eligibility provisions which exclude businesses involved in activities relating to tobacco and tobacco-related products. Accordingly, such businesses are generally not eligible to avail of these supports.

The Trading Online Voucher Scheme, which was discontinued in 2024, operated under separate eligibility criteria established by the then Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment (DCCAE), which funded and governed the scheme. The scheme was administered by the Local Enterprise Offices on behalf of the Department and eligibility was assessed in accordance with the national criteria in place at that time. As identified through the review undertaken by the Local Enterprise Offices, two businesses whose primary activity related to vaping products received support under that scheme in 2021, with approvals of €1,150 and €1,100 respectively.