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Night-Time Economy Support Scheme 2022 (NTESS 2022): Your questions answered
From Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media
Published on
Last updated on
From Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media
Published on
Last updated on
The Night Time Economy Support Scheme 2022 (NTESS 2022) will reopen for applications at https://ntess.tcagsm.gov.ie from noon on 27 July 2022 and it will remain open until noon on Wednesday 10 August 2022 or until the fund is exhausted, whichever occurs first.
Please note that only one application per business/venue is permitted under this scheme.
Registered Businesses who are located in the State and have a physical premises/s from which they trade.
The business/venue must be located in the State for this scheme and the events/cultural activities must be held in the State.
Applications will be accepted by a collective group of venues but one applicant must take ownership of the application and drawdown of funding.
The Business must be tax compliant.
The Applicant must commit to trialling a minimum of four cultural events/cultural activities. Applications for more than four events will be accepted, however please note that the maximum grant available is €10,000 per application.
The Applicant must include a clear description of the proposed cultural activities and lay out the timeline for each cultural event proposed.
All cultural activities must be take place before October 2022. However applications will be accepted for events in November 2022, if the event taking place is being held as part of Fáilte Ireland’s, Live in the City event in Dublin as part of the Winter in Dublin programme.
The events must be cultural and must be of a participative or performance nature. For the purpose of this scheme, cultural activity can be defined as (but is not restricted to) the following types of events or activities:
The Applicant must include a clear description of the proposed cultural activities and lay out the timeline for each cultural event proposed. The cultural events proposed in the application is not restricted to one type of event. In other words, applications can include for example, a music event on one date and a comedy night on another date. All cultural activities must be take place before October 2022.
Applicants whose proposed events do not meet the eligibility criteria. Please note the following events will not be eligible:
Third level colleges, ETBs, or schools.
Existing grantees of DTCAGSM schemes that are currently not in compliance with the Service Level Agreements issued and the associated drawdown procedures.
Outdoor events are not permitted unless the event that is taking place outside, is in an established outdoor area, attached to or within the curtilage of the property.
This scheme will operate with a limited fund of €2.6 million. Eligibility does not guarantee the offer of a grant. Applications will be considered strictly by order of date and time of receipt by the department and in accordance with the approval procedures, as set out in the guidelines.
An email will issue, advising you of the outcome of your application. Please note, grant payments will be made on the basis of paid invoices submitted (matured liabilities basis) and only for the proposed events submitted on the original application.
This Scheme will provide 75% of the required funding, with applicants required to fund the remaining 25%.
An applicant should look at the total costs of running the events before applying for funding and then apply for 75% of the total cost.
For Example:
Total cost of hosting the events = €12,000
75% of €12,000 = €9,000
The Applicant should apply for €9,000.
The Applicant is required to match fund the remaining 25%, that is, €3,000.
The maximum amount that is payable under this scheme is €10,000. To receive €10,000 in funding the total costs must be equal or exceed €13,333.
Receipts must be submitted for the total cost of hosting the events.
The grant will be paid to the business’ bank account by Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT), using the details submitted on the application form.
Applications are being invited under two separate Strands:
Strand A: Licensed premises – pubs, restaurants and wine bars, nightclubs and other suitable licensed premises that operate in the Evening and Night-Time Economy, who want to trial a series of events/cultural activities (minimum of four events) during off peak times from Monday to Thursday (excluding weekends) from 6pm onwards.
Strand B: Unlicensed premises – cafés, including cafés that may have their premises in a retail outlet, dry bars, local galleries and other suitable non-licensed premises, who want to trial a series of events/cultural activities (minimum of four events) in the later evening or night-time hours from 6pm, with a commitment to open until at least 9pm in the evening, from Monday to Sunday.
Contracts for services for Artist/Performer/Musician hired by the venue.
Services from Creative Industries (including services of Set/Costume Designers).
Costs relating to costumes for theatrical productions.
Costs relating to Advertising, PR, ticketing related to the specific cultural event.
Hire of specialist equipment specifically required for the cultural event.
Health and Safety and Security costs.
Event Insurance Costs.
Intellectual Property costs.
Please Note: It is a condition of funding that all Artists and Performers are paid.
The following are some examples of expenditure, which are not eligible for funding, but this is not an exhaustive list:
Any eligible business where the annual turnover is under €191,000, this includes licensed premises that fall under ‘Licence Band A’ will be considered. Please note, if applying for prefunding, the department will pre-fund 75% of the awarded funding with the final 25% payable on submission of invoices and receipts, which should also be evidenced by Bank statements/other supporting documentations and have been submitted in accordance with these guidelines. The maximum amount that will be pre-funded is €7,500 per application.
As set out in the Night Time Economy Support Scheme 2022 guidelines, the scheme operates on the basis of paid invoices submitted. Businesses are required to retain all evidence and documentation which supports the basis for making a claim under the scheme as this may be requested by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media (D/TCAGSM) under future eligibility checks.
The department will arrange to carry out spot-checks to ensure compliance with the qualifying criteria and for auditing purposes
Please read the Night Time Economy Support Scheme 2022 Guidelines, before starting your application. The application form for this scheme will be made available on the department’s website at noon on 27 July 2022.
Click on the “Start New Application” button and complete the form. In submitting the application, the applicant will be confirming that the application being made meets the criteria set out in the Guidelines for the Scheme.
If you have already submitted a full application and received an acknowledgement you do not need to re-apply. Those Applicants who have already submitted draft applications can log in with the credentials previously provided and complete their application for funding.
In order to allow us to check your tax clearance status you must provide a Tax Clearance Access Number (TCAN) along with your Tax ID (requested in an earlier field). Your TCAN is provided upon successful application for Tax Clearance from Revenue. The department must be able to verify the tax clearance status of all successful applicants in order to make payment to them. Your TCAN is not the same number as your Tax ID.
Details of individual awards may be published on the department’s website including, the name of the grantee, county in which the beneficiary is located and the grant amount.
The closing date for receipt of applications is noon on Wednesday 10 August 2022. Please note: The scheme may close earlier if funding is exhausted.
This scheme will operate with a limited additional allocation of €1.4 million. Applications will be considered strictly by order of date and time of receipt by the department.
Applicants are not required to upload any documents unless applying for pre-funding. However, Applicants may use the upload document facility to provide additional information regarding the proposed events, such as marketing plans or detailed descriptions of the types of events proposed.
If applying for prefunding, Applicants will be required to upload the following:
IMPORTANT - Auditors Certificate / Letter signed by an Accountant must clearly confirm the following details;
Which Stream the application is for, that is, Stream A, Stream B
b) Confirmation that the Vat-exclusive turnover for the business was no more than €191,000
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 must provide evidence in advance of pre-payment, showing the breakdown of costs including formal quotes for eligible costs under this Scheme.
Applications cannot be considered unless the above documentation has been completed in full and uploaded.
A typed signature should be provided where indicated on the last page of the application form.
An appeal may be made by an applicant if the applicant considers that the process for reviewing their application was not adhered to.
The applicant must be in receipt of a decision email from the NTE 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.
See further information on the Night Time Economy Support Scheme - Appeals process .
All queries can be emailed to NTESS@tcagsm.gov.ie
If you have an application number, please remember to include this in all correspondence.
Please also note that this document may be updated from time to time.