There is no single Enterprise Ireland AI grant. As of September 2026, four schemes pay for different stages of an AI project in Ireland. Digital Discovery pays up to 80% of an outside expert’s roadmap, to a maximum grant of €5,000. Digital Process Innovation pays 50% of an implementation project, up to €150,000. The Local Enterprise Office’s Grow Digital Voucher pays 50%, up to €5,000, towards off-the-shelf software. Skillnet Ireland pays €204.30 per employee for each day of AI training. Our Digital and AI consultancy ends in a costed plan that marks which scheme fits each part of a project.
Which AI grants are open in Ireland in 2026?
Every figure in this table was checked against the scheme’s own page on 30 September 2026. Schemes change and budgets run out, so confirm with the body that runs the scheme before you plan around one.
Scroll the table sideways for the full detail
| Scheme | Run by | What it pays | What it pays for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Digital Discovery | Enterprise Ireland | Up to 80%, maximum grant €5,000 | An outside expert’s digital or AI roadmap |
| Digital Process Innovation | Enterprise Ireland | 50% of eligible costs, maximum grant €150,000 | Implementing a new digital way of working |
| Grow Digital Voucher | Local Enterprise Office | 50%, from €500 to €5,000 | New off-the-shelf software subscriptions, training and configuration |
| Upskill SME Training Grant | Skillnet Ireland | €204.30 per training day per employee | Salary costs while staff train in AI skills |
What does the Enterprise Ireland Digital Discovery grant pay for?
Digital Discovery pays for advice. Enterprise Ireland describes it as hiring an expert “to either put in place Digital Foundations or take the first step/next step in Artificial Intelligence”. The output is a roadmap covering at least the next 12 to 18 months, with an action plan for the first four to six months.
The Digital Discovery FAQ sets out the arithmetic. The grant is 80% of a project cost of up to €6,300, with the grant capped at €5,000. That cost is seven days of external consultancy, with eligible costs capped at €900 a day. A provider may charge more or less than €900, and your business pays the balance.
Who can apply, as of September 2026:
- Enterprise Ireland clients with ten or more full-time staff.
- High Potential Start-Up clients with five or more full-time staff.
- Companies that are not clients of any state development body may be eligible if they employ ten or more full-time staff and are in manufacturing or an internationally traded service.
- Clients of a Local Enterprise Office, Údarás na Gaeltachta or IDA Ireland are directed to their own adviser there.
The grant excludes implementation. It also excludes product, service and website development, buying or configuring off-the-shelf technology, training, and finance, HR, sales, marketing or web consultancy. Enterprise Ireland lists a project “focused on implementation” as a common reason for rejection.
The engagement should take about 8 to 12 weeks. A company or group can use the grant once, with a follow-on possible 18 months after the claim.
Is there an Enterprise Ireland AI Discovery grant?
Enterprise Ireland lists a support called Access Advice: AI Discovery. Its page describes a 12 to 18-month AI roadmap and a route from discovery to prototype to a working system, with the AI centres CeADAR and IMR and a panel of consultants. As of September 2026 that page publishes no grant rate or maximum. The published figures for advice are the Digital Discovery ones, so ask your Enterprise Ireland adviser which of the two your project falls under.
What does Digital Process Innovation fund?
Digital Process Innovation funds the implementation that Digital Discovery excludes. Enterprise Ireland’s brochure gives the rate for SMEs and large companies as 50% of eligible costs, up to a maximum grant of €150,000. A project reaches that maximum at €300,000 of eligible cost.
Eligible costs are:
- salary costs for the time staff work on the project;
- reasonable external consultancy costs;
- materials costs;
- defined overhead costs.
The project has to change how the company works. The brochure asks for a new way of working that raises the quality, speed, dependability or flexibility of operations, including “significant changes in techniques, equipment and/or software”. It must carry some innovation or risk of failure. Routine operational changes and responses to regulation do not qualify.
Of the four schemes, this is the one a custom AI or automation build can fit. The full eligibility criteria sit behind the Enterprise Ireland login, and a company that is not yet a client is asked to contact its local Enterprise Ireland office.
Can the Grow Digital Voucher pay for AI tools?
Yes, when the tool is an off-the-shelf subscription that is new to your business. The Local Enterprise Office lists analytics software “including AI systems” among its examples, and it excludes custom or bespoke software and clients of Enterprise Ireland or the IDA. Our Grow Digital Voucher guide has the eligibility rules and the Digital for Business prerequisite. Website projects are covered in our guide to grants for a website in Ireland.
Is AI training grant-funded in Ireland?
Yes. Skillnet Ireland’s Upskill SME Training Grant lets a small or medium-sized business recover salary costs for the days employees spend in AI training. As of September 2026 the grant is €204.30 per training day per employee. Skillnet states that an application does not guarantee funding, which depends on eligibility and available budget.
Which AI grant fits which business?
Match the scheme to the stage you are at and the body you are a client of.
| Your situation | Scheme to look at first |
|---|---|
| Enterprise Ireland client, ten or more staff, no plan yet | Digital Discovery |
| A roadmap exists and the next step is a large implementation | Digital Process Innovation |
| 1 to 50 employees, a LEO client, buying a subscription AI tool | Grow Digital Voucher |
| Staff need AI skills before any project starts | Upskill SME Training Grant |
| A small business that wants custom software or a custom integration | None of the four; budget for it yourself |
Apply before you spend. The Local Enterprise Office requires the application before any project expenditure, and a Digital Discovery engagement begins after the Letter of Offer is signed.
How Loco approaches a grant-backed AI project
Loco Digital is a digital product studio, and most of what we build is custom, which Digital Discovery and the Grow Digital Voucher both exclude. We start with a short consult led by Mark or Adam. It ends in a scoped, costed plan that separates the advice, the subscriptions, the training and the custom build, and marks the scheme each line could fall under. Your business makes every application, and the funder decides.
Digital Discovery has no approved consultant list, so check with your Enterprise Ireland adviser before you engage any provider, us included.
The work we can show is the integration layer an AI project depends on. Loco Digital built the ERP HEADtoHEAD booking engine on Stripe and WooCommerce, which is set up to bill each event from its own company, in its own currency. On the IPAV membership platform, the member directory stays synchronised with the Institute’s CRM.
Built projects start from €10,000. Our AI automation service in Ireland covers the build, and AI automation for Irish SMEs covers which processes to start with.
