On the eve of the closing date, just half of firms expected to apply for a Government grant aimed at helping small and medium sized businesses with rising costs have submitted applications.
By this afternoon, just under 61,000 submissions had been received by local authorities, who are administering the Increased Cost of Business (ICOB) scheme.
However, the Government had originally estimated that more than 120,000 firms were eligible to apply, meaning just over 50% have actually done so.
"I am continuing to urge all businesses to register for the Increased Cost of Business Grant," Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Peter Burke said.
"The process is simple, you can do it on your phone within five minutes and the money will be paid directly into your nominated bank account."
The minister added that it had been flagged with him that some businesses may have not registered for the €257m scheme as they may be in arrears with their commercial rates, upon which the payment is based.
"As long as you are working out a payment plan with your Local Authority, the grant can still be paid. This is a straightforward cash injection," Mr Burke said.
"I have engaged with numerous trade and representative groups in recent days, as well as with Government colleagues to ensure that businesses are aware of this once-off support."
The assistance comes in the form of a one-off grant payment based on the value of the commercial rates bill that eligible businesses paid last year.
For qualifying businesses with a rates bill of less than €10,000, the ICOB grant will be paid at a rate of 50% of the business's commercial rate bill for 2023.
For businesses with a rates bill of between €10,000 and €30,000, the ICOB grant will be €5,000.
Businesses with a rates bill greater than €30,000 cannot receive an ICOB grant.
