It closed to applications on 13 December 2024. Most Irish web design sites still advertise it. Here is what actually replaced it, what the new voucher will and will not pay for, and what to do if you still need a website.
Short answer: the Trading Online Voucher closed to applications on 13 December 2024 and has not reopened. It was replaced by the Grow Digital Voucher — up to €5,000 at 50% of eligible costs. Important: the Grow Digital Voucher does not fund bespoke website development. It funds off-the-shelf software subscriptions that are new to your business.
If you have been googling “trading online voucher 2026” and finding Irish web design companies still advertising a €2,500 grant for your website, you are not going mad. Those pages are simply out of date — a lot of them. Here is what actually happened, checked against the Local Enterprise Office's own published guidance.
The Trading Online Voucher Scheme gave small Irish businesses up to €2,500 at 50% match funding to get trading online. It was the scheme most Irish web designers built their “get a grant for your website” pages around.
It closed for applications on 13 December 2024 at 5pm. The Local Enterprise Office financial supports pages no longer list it. There is no 2026 round.
| Trading Online Voucher (closed) | Grow Digital Voucher (current) | |
|---|---|---|
| Maximum | €2,500 | €5,000 |
| Match rate | 50% | 50% |
| Minimum grant | — | €500 |
| Number of vouchers | 2 | 2, capped at €5,000 cumulative |
| Employees | Up to 10 | 1–50 |
| Turnover limit | Under €2m | €10m or less |
| Prerequisite | Information session | Digital for Business project in the previous 2 years |
| Funds a custom website? | Yes | No |
Certain sectors are excluded, including gambling and gaming, adult entertainment, tobacco, coal and steel, and primary agriculture, fishery and aquaculture. Chambers of commerce, trade associations and non-commercial bodies are also out of scope.
You cannot apply for the Grow Digital Voucher cold. You must first complete a Digital for Business project — up to three days of consultancy through your Local Enterprise Office, fully funded, so it is free to your business. It produces a report identifying your digital priorities, and that report is what the voucher then part-funds.
If you are serious about the voucher, this is step one and it should be your first phone call.
This is the bit being quietly skipped by everyone still running “website grant” pages. The Grow Digital Voucher guidance says, directly, that it does not support bespoke website development.
Also ineligible: custom or bespoke software, digital marketing, regulatory compliance systems, and extending software licences you already hold. Eligible spend has to be an off-the-shelf software subscription that is new to your business, for a maximum of one year.
In short: the voucher can help pay for the systems your business runs on. The website that presents them is on you.
Honestly? At Irish agency rates of €1,500–€3,500, the loss of a €2,500 voucher is a real problem for a small business. That is genuinely why a lot of Irish SMEs are stuck on a Facebook page.
It is also the gap Ncell was built for. A full custom site is €299 one-time, hosting and SSL included, no monthly fee — which is below the amount most businesses were putting up as their own 50% share of the old voucher. And you see the finished site before you pay anything.
Ncell does not claim to be a grant-funded supplier for custom website work. That would not be true, and you would find out at the worst possible moment.
Your Local Enterprise Office is the right first call for both Digital for Business and the Grow Digital Voucher. In Waterford there are offices in Waterford city and in Dungarvan — 051 849905, info@leo.waterfordcouncil.ie. Outside Waterford, find your local office through localenterprise.ie. The National Enterprise Hub also has a single entry point for all current business supports.
Grant schemes change. Confirm the current figures and rules with your LEO before you commit to anything — including anything you read here.
No. The Trading Online Voucher closed to applications on 13 December 2024 at 5pm. It has not reopened. Any website advertising the €2,500 Trading Online Voucher as a current scheme is out of date.
The Grow Digital Voucher, run through the Local Enterprise Offices. It offers up to €5,000 at 50% of eligible costs, with a minimum grant of €500. You must complete a Digital for Business support project first, within the previous two years.
Not for a bespoke, custom-built website. The Grow Digital Voucher guidance states plainly that it does not support bespoke website development. It funds off-the-shelf software subscriptions that are new to your business — for example an ecommerce platform, a booking system or a CRM — along with the configuration and training around them.
Small enterprises with 1 to 50 paid employees and turnover or balance sheet of €10 million or less, trading for at least six months, tax compliant and solvent, and not a current Enterprise Ireland or IDA client. You must also have completed a Digital for Business project within the previous two years.
Up to three days of consultancy delivered through your Local Enterprise Office, fully funded so it is free to your business. It produces a report identifying your digital priorities, and that report is the prerequisite for applying for the Grow Digital Voucher.
Ncell does not submit applications on your behalf and does not claim to be a grant-funded supplier for custom website work, because that would not be accurate. If a Grow Digital Voucher covers a platform subscription you need, Ncell can quote for the configuration and implementation work around it.
Scheme details verified against Local Enterprise Office guidance on 14 September 2026 · This page is information, not financial advice · Written by Oisín, founder of Ncell, Dungarvan, Co. Waterford
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