ClientReady

For Irish SMEs

Which Irish government grants can fund a ClientReady audit?

Three schemes may fund all or part of our €399 AI or WordPress security audit. Which one applies depends on your business size, sector, and where you are in the digital-adoption journey.

All three schemes require approval before the work starts. We'll walk you through the application before you buy.

The Irish state has stepped up small-business digital funding meaningfully in the last two years — the umbrella is Enterprise Ireland's "AI for Business" positioning, but the actual grants sit across three different bodies: Local Enterprise Offices (LEOs), Enterprise Ireland (EI), and the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC). Each has its own eligibility, cap, and application flow.

Here's the honest breakdown of which grant fits which business — with what we deliver and what our fee looks like inside each.

Best fit for most SMEs Local Enterprise Office (LEO)

Grow Digital Voucher

Delivered by your Local Enterprise Office · replaced the older Trading Online Voucher for AI/digital tools in 2024

Amount
Up to €5,000 at 50% funding
You pay 50%, LEO pays 50%
Business size
1–50 employees
Turnover / balance-sheet ≤ €10M
Sectors
Most sectors qualify
Retail, services, trades, hospitality, professional
Timing
Approve BEFORE work starts
Any prior spend does not qualify

What it covers: "Analytics software (including AI systems)" and cybersecurity software explicitly qualify. AI consulting is not on the named list — but our audit deliverable (a documented roadmap of tools + workflows to adopt) is what the grant is designed to help SMEs figure out.

What we deliver inside the grant: We'll price the audit alongside implementation setup or a starter retainer so the total sits comfortably in the €5,000 envelope. That gives you the audit + real implementation of the top 2-3 tools, half of it funded.

Fits you if: you're a small Irish business (under 50 staff), trading in most any sector, ready to invest ~€2,500 of your own money to get ~€5,000 of work done.

Higher funding · narrower eligibility Enterprise Ireland

Access Advice: Digital and AI Discovery

Enterprise Ireland grant · enterprise-ireland.com/aidiscovery

Amount
Up to €5,000 at 80% funding
Day rate capped at €900 for 3–7 days
Business size
10+ employees
Micro-businesses excluded from this scheme
Sectors
Manufacturing OR internationally-traded services
Must already be an EI client
Timing
8–12 week engagement
Approve before work starts

What it covers: Explicitly: "guidance on the implementation of new or enhanced digital, data, automation or AI solutions" and producing a digital/AI roadmap. That's exactly what our AI audit produces.

What we deliver inside the grant: A longer engagement than our standard 48-hour audit — a 3–7 day deep-dive over 8–12 weeks, delivered as a written roadmap plus follow-up implementation support. Priced at the €900/day cap so 80% of €5,000 = €4,000 covered by EI.

Fits you if: you're already an Enterprise Ireland client (or eligible to become one), 10+ employees, in manufacturing or exporting-services. Domestic-market SMEs and micro-businesses should look at the Grow Digital Voucher above instead.

For serious security remediation National Cyber Security Centre

NCC-IE Cyber Security Improvement Grant

National Cyber Security Centre · ncsc.gov.ie

Amount
Up to €60,000 at 80% funding
For remediation, not the audit itself
Prerequisite
Complete the EI Cyber Security Review first
Free, run by Enterprise Ireland
Business size
Irish or EU-owned SME
Standard SME definition applies
Timing
Approve before work starts
Grant activates after the free review

What it covers: Cyber-security remediation — hardening, monitoring, incident response — up to €60,000 at 80% funding. Doesn't fund the audit fee, but funds the fix.

How it fits our security audit: If our €399 audit finds you're compromised (or seriously exposed), the cleanup we do — plus ongoing monitoring, Wordfence Premium, staff training, hosting hardening — is exactly what this grant is designed to fund. Realistically it's a route for the tail end of the security work, not the audit itself.

Fits you if: our security audit uncovers real issues and you want a proper multi-month remediation programme instead of a same-day patch job. We can scope the follow-on work into a fundable proposal.

Once you're approved

Send us the approval-in-principle letter and we'll invoice inside the grant scope.

We can prepare the quote in whatever format your grant application needs, and time delivery around the approve-before-work rule. Have questions before you apply? Email us — we'll answer honestly, no sales call.

Email us about grants

Primary sources

Grant terms, amounts, and eligibility can change. Verify the current position with the awarding body before you apply. Nothing on this page is professional grant-advisory advice — we're a friendly overview, not a licensed grants consultancy.