Live Performance Restart Grant Scheme: Guidelines

SCHEME IS NOW CLOSED FOR APPLICATIONS

Applications will be invited for grant funding under this scheme from 1pm on Tuesday 22 March 2022. The scheme will close for applications at 1pm on Wednesday 20 April 2022.

Applicants may make only one application under this scheme.

The application form will be made available on the department’s website at 1pm on Tuesday 22 March 2022.

Please note:

• this Scheme will operate with a fund of €15 million, due to the high volume of applications anticipated, it may not be possible to allocate funding to all eligible applicants
• applications will be considered strictly by order of date and time of receipt by the department

The Live Performance Restart Grant Scheme (LPRGS) is a grant for businesses engaged in staging live events in the arts and culture live performance sector. The scheme aims to help underpin the recovery of the live performance sector by providing business restart grants to companies/venues/producers and promoters.

The scheme forms part of a €50 million suite of supports for the Live Entertainment sector in 2022.

Grants of up to €100,000 will be provided to eligible businesses.

The scheme will open for applications via an online portal on Tuesday 22 March at 1pm.

This scheme will support the live entertainment sector by providing business re-start grants to de-risk the planning of events across spring and summer of 2022 and to assist with the costs of reopening.

Businesses must have resumed trading in order to be eligible to apply under this scheme.

Who is eligible to apply

• producers, promoters and venues, including nightclubs with an established track record in producing live arts/culture performances and which are advertised as such. These events must be predominately artist led as defined by the Arts Act 2003, that is:

“"arts" means any creative or interpretative expression (whether traditional or contemporary) in whatever form, and includes, in particular, visual arts, theatre, literature, music, dance, opera, film, circus and architecture, and includes any medium when used for those purpose".

• existing grantees who are fully compliant with their existing Service Level Agreement and draw down procedures. Existing grantees defined as: LPSS Pilot, LPSS 2021, LPSS 2, LPSS 3 or ESCSS (Stream A only) grantees in full compliance with their service level agreements

Please note: existing grantees are deemed to have already demonstrated their track record, no further information in relation to track record is required for those applicants.

• if an applicant is a new entrant, that is, not an existing grantee, the applicant must be in a position to demonstrate the following:

-a proven track record of at least 2 years of delivering ticketed events in the arts and culture sector;

-VAT-exclusive turnover generated in this State of at least €100,000 or above per year for 2018 and 2019;

-the business must be located in the State

• all applicants, that is, existing grantees and new entrants, must be able to demonstrate that their VAT-exclusive turnover , for any consecutive 12 month period from 1 January 2020 – 31 December 2021, was no more than 40% of their turnover prior to the introduction of COVID-19 restrictions, demonstrated via provision of accounts for their reference year (either 2018, 2019 or 2020). VAT exclusive turnover excluding COVID-19 supports, for example: PUP, MEBAS, SBACS, CRSS, LPSS, ESCSS, EWSS
• the loss of turnover must be confirmed via an Auditor’s Certificate/Letter signed by an Accountant/Auditor
• all applicants will also be required to provide their most recent Audited Accounts/Accountants prepared by an accountant and Accounts for their reference year (either 2018, 2019 or 2020)
• the business must be tax compliant

Please note: A business can make only one application for funding under this scheme.

Who is not eligible to apply

• new entrants who do not have 2 years track record during 2018 and 2019 in producing in live ticketed performances in the arts sector
• new entrants who do not have VAT-exclusive turnover of €100,000 or above as a result of live performances for 2018 and 2019
• any applicant both existing grantees and new entrants who cannot demonstrate that their VAT-exclusive turnover (excluding COVID-19 supports) was no more than 40% of their VAT-exclusive turnover for the reference year (either 2018, 2019 or 2020) for any consecutive 12 month period from 1 January 2020 – 31 December 2021
• venues/art centres owned, run or significantly funded by Local Authorities
• venues/art centres in receipt of strategic/arts centre funding from the Arts Council or a business/venue/arts centre whose operations are substantially funded by the Arts Council
• existing grantees that are currently not in compliance with their Service Level Agreements and associated drawdown procedures

This scheme will have 3 funding streams.

• Stream A – Pilot LPSS or LPSS 2021 grantees who are fully compliant with their Service Levels Agreements, and wish to apply for a grant of up to 75% of the Pilot LPSS or LPSS 2021 grant offered, subject to a maximum of €100,000.
• Stream B – Existing Grantees: LPSS/ESCSS (Stream A only) grantees that are fully compliant with their Service Levels Agreements, and wish to apply for a grant based on 15% of their Vat Exclusive Turnover for the reference year (either 2018, 2019 or 2020), subject to a maximum of €100,000.
• Stream C – New Entrants: Applicants who have not received a grant through the Live Performance Support Scheme or the Events Sector Covid Support Scheme (Stream A only) previously, and wish to apply for a grant based on 15% of the businesses VAT exclusive turnover for the reference year up to a maximum of €100,000, subject to demonstration of a proven track record of at least 2 years of delivering ticketed events in the arts sector and having VAT-exclusive turnover generated in this State of €100,000 or above per year for 2018 and 2019.

Please note: The maximum grant offered under this scheme will be €100,000.

Timing of scheme

The Scheme will open for applications at 1pm on Tuesday 22 March and remain open until 1pm on Wednesday 20 April 2022. Applications after this date will not be considered.

Procurement

All organisations in receipt of grant assistance must comply with public procurement guidelines.

Acknowledgment of funding

Grantees will be obliged to acknowledge the department's assistance in annual financial statements for each year the grant is in payment.

Approval procedures

• all applications for funding under this scheme received by the department by the closing date will be assessed to ensure eligibility
• successful applicants for this scheme will receive an offer in principle of grant, subject to sufficient funding being available. Eligibility does not guarantee an offer of funding

Grantees will be required to comply with the highest standard of transparency and accountability as documented in the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform Circular 13/2014 - Management of and Accountability for Grants from Exchequer Funds.

The information provided in this document is intended to give applicants an understanding of the process by which applications for assistance are assessed and approved and does not purport to be a legal interpretation.

Freedom of Information Act 2014

Under the Freedom of Information Act 2014, details contained in applications and supporting documents may, on request, be released to third parties. If there is information contained in your application which is sensitive or confidential in nature, please identify it and provide an explanation as to why it should not be disclosed. If a request to release sensitive information under the legislation is received, you will be consulted before a decision is made whether or not to release the information. However, in the absence of the identification of particular information as sensitive, it could be disclosed without any consultation with you.

Audit

The department reserves the right to carry out an audit of expenditure or conduct inspections from time to time. In addition, the Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General reserves the right to inspect documentation as per conditions in D/PER Circular 13/2014 as referred to under Section 8 above.

Publication

Details of individual awards will be published on the department's website including, the name of the grantee; region in which the beneficiary is located; grant amount expressed as full amount in national currency; granting authority; date of granting.

Data Protection

See information on data protection in relation to the department.

Disclaimer

The Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sports and Media shall not be liable to the applicant or any other party for any loss, damage or costs of any nature resulting directly or indirectly from the application or its subject matter or the department’s rejection of the application for any reason.

The department, its servants or its agents shall not at any time in any circumstances be held responsible or liable for any matter connected with developing, planning, financing, building, operating, managing and/or administering individual projects or any matter connected with the part payment by the department of invoices submitted by grantees.

Evaluation Survey

You will be required to complete an Evaluation Survey in relation to your participation in this scheme, including how the grant received/impact of the grant for your business.

Further information may be requested

The department reserves the right to request further information from you in order to assess your application if so required.

This scheme has closed for applications.

Applications can only be made via applications made via the Scheme’s Online Portal Applicants.

Applicants should ensure that their application is completed in full and the following documents are scanned and ready to be uploaded as part of your application:

• Auditor’s Certificate/Letter signed by an Accountant is submitted with the application (see details below), and;
• the most recent Audited accounts/accountants prepared by an accountant for the business, and;
• audited accounts/accountants prepared by an accountant for the reference year for the purpose of this application (2018, 2019 or 2020)

To Note – Auditor’s certificate/letter signed by an accountant must detail/confirm the following:

• which Stream the application is for, that is, Stream A, Stream B or Stream C
• confirmation that the Vat-exclusive turnover for the business was no more than 40% of their Vat-exclusive turnover for the reference year (either 2018, 2019 or 2020) for a consecutive 12 month period from 1 January 2020 – 31 December 2021. VAT exclusive turnover excluding COVID-19 supports, for example: PUP, MEBAS, SBACS, CRSS, LPSS, ESCSS, EWSS
• state the 12 month period that has been chosen to demonstrate the reduction in turnover against the reference year and the total VAT–exclusive turnover for that period
• confirmation that the venue/art centre is not owned, run or significantly funded by a Local Authority
• confirmation that the applicant is not in receipt of strategic/arts sector funding from the Arts Council or is a business/venue/art centre whose operations are substantially funded by the Arts Council
• that the applicant has not been in an undertaking in difficulty (has not entered insolvency proceedings).
• that applicant has not been in receipt of State Aid under the EU Commission State Aid Temporary Framework of more than €2.3 million including the value of the grant being applied for, and;
• that the applicant understands that the most recent audited accounts/accounts prepared by an a accountant for the business and for the reference year for the purpose of this application (2018, 2019 or 2020) must be provided as part of the application
• Track record must also be demonstrated as follows on this letter-

- For Existing Grantees please confirm this by providing the previous LPSS or ESCSS (Stream A) grant reference number/name.

OR;

- For new entrants please provide details of ticketed live performances, undertaken in 2018 and 2019 for ticketed live audience, to include name and location of event, duration of event and audience numbers and box office generated, and;

- For new entrants confirmation that businesses VAT exclusive turnover for 2018 and 2019 is €100,000 or above.

All of the above details must be noted on the Auditors Certificate/Accountant’s Letter uploaded in order for your application to be considered.

• applicants will be also be asked to confirm that they have read and understood the Guidelines and criteria to making an application under the Live Performance Restart Grant Scheme and agree to comply fully with all the terms and conditions, when submitting their application
• applicants will also be asked to confirm that all information in the application and all information in any supporting documents is truthful and accurate and that they accept that if any information is found to be false or misleading that the department may withdraw grants, require repayment of all or part of a grant and/or bar applications from this organisation for a period of time. Submission of false or misleading information to the department at any stage is treated very seriously. Serious breaches of the terms and conditions of this scheme will be notified to the relevant authority including An Garda Síochána

The department will only accept applications made via the Scheme’s Online Portal. An acknowledgement email and application reference number will issue on receipt of your application.

Please note that the closing date for applications is strictly Wednesday 20 April 2022 at 1pm (as per the department’s time stamp on email).

We strongly advise applicants not to wait until the last day to submit applications in case you experience IT related problems.

We regret that applications cannot be accepted after the closing date.

Incomplete applications cannot be considered and it is the applicant’s responsibility to ensure that all information is provided as per the application form. A confirmation email will issue with your reference number. If you do not provide all the information required with your application this will slow down the assessment process.

An applicant may make an appeal if the applicant considers that the process for assessing their application was not adhered to.

The applicant must be in receipt of a decision email from the LPRGS team in order to make an appeal. An appeal must be made within 5 working days of the date on the decision email.

Appeals submitted after this date will not be accepted.

Further information on the appeals process can be accessed here: Live Performance Restart Grant Scheme (LPRGS): Appeals process.

Grants offered under this scheme constitute State Aid under the EU Commission State Aid Temporary Framework.

The Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht Sports and Media (D/TCAGSM) confirms that it will respect the monitoring and reporting obligations laid down in section 4 of the Temporary Framework.

D/TCAGSM is the grant aiding Authority for the Scheme.

The legal basis of the Scheme is the Ministers and Secretaries Act 1924 as amended by Statutory Instrument No. 403 of 29 September 2020. Grants are provided in accordance with the criteria set out above, subject to EU State Aid law.

Aid being provided towards this Scheme is subject to the provisions of the European Commission’s State Aid Temporary Framework as amended.

The Scheme will be operated under the EU’s COVID-19 Temporary Aid Framework (the ‘Temporary Framework’). To fall within the Temporary Framework its provisions must be complied with in all cases and in all respects in so far as they apply to State Aid for a particular applicant. While D/TCAGSM has a primary responsibility to comply with those requirements and other State Aid rules, compliance also depends on the co-operation of applicants, including their adherence to these Guidelines, their candour in making applications to us and, ultimately, their compliance with the terms and conditions attaching to the grant, if successful.

See a consolidated version of the Temporary Framework as of 28 January 2021.

It is the applicant’s responsibility to ensure that it is aware of any amendments to the Temporary Framework and applicants are free (and encouraged) to take legal advice as appropriate on how State aid rules apply in their particular situation. Please note that it is a requirement of the Temporary Framework that the aid is granted no later than 31 December 2021 (subject to any extension by the EU Commission). Aid measures developed under the Temporary Framework is subject to the Standstill Obligation in compliance with Article 108(3) TFEU. This means that no aid can be granted or paid out before notification and approval by Commission.

Applicants will be required to provide details of grants already received under other Temporary Frameworks as part of the application process.

For all queries please email: LPRGS@tcagsm.gov.ie