2025 Co-operation with Northern Ireland Scheme

During 2025, the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media will operate a scheme of funding support for small self-contained projects which seek to enhance, celebrate or commemorate the arts, culture, music, film or heritage of the Island of Ireland on a North/South basis.

Projects funded under the scheme must have a clearly demonstrable North/South element and should seek to contribute to enhancing, celebrating or commemorating the arts, culture, music, film or heritage of the whole Island of Ireland.

Funding provided under the scheme should meet a specific cultural need and should support the Department in the delivery of its objective to nurture and develop Irish artistic and creative talent and enhance arts access, the national cultural institutions, regional arts infrastructure and cultural tourism countrywide, in cooperation with national and local authorities and other partners. The assessment of applications is on a competitive basis, and is carried out by an assessment committee. The committee’s decision is final

Projects should be creative and innovative, and examples of projects which could be considered for funding under the scheme include, but are not limited to, projects which:

1. Promote co-operation and joint initiatives between organisations and institutions on a North/South basis;

2. Promote sustainable cultural tourism on a North/South basis;

3. Promote the provision of cultural outreach programmes on a North/South basis.

Please note: the Departmental contribution will not exceed €15,000 for any application. Projects must be completed in full prior to the final drawdown date of 20th September 2025. Payment for successful applicants is retrospective and is based on the provision of paid invoices and proof of payment in the form of bank statements. Cash purchases cannot be reimbursed.

The following criteria for eligibility apply:

1. Applications are invited from bodies, organisations and institutions that operate as not for profit. Please provide Articles and Memorandum of Association/Constitution or a Statement of standard rules and procedures of the organisation/institution.

2. Applications involving partnerships or collaborations will be considered for funding under the scheme.

3. Only one application per organisation may be submitted.

4. Applicants are not permitted to seek funding from any other scheme administered by the Cultural Schemes and Initiatives Unit (Regional Museum Exhibition Scheme, Small Scale Local Festival and Summer Schools Funding Scheme, Mobility of Collections Scheme) for the same project. If the same project seeks funding for more than one scheme, one or both applications may be rejected.

5. Capital projects cannot be considered for funding under the scheme.

6. Applicants must provide a valid Tax Reference Number for the organisation. A Tax Clearance Certificate is required for all organisations in receipt of more than €10,000 in grants, subsidies or similar type payments from a government department or public authority during the year. Non-resident applicants are responsible for ensuring that their tax affairs are in order to avail of funding if successful.

To provide further clarity, listed below are items that fall outside the scope of the scheme and will not be eligible for funding. This list is not exhaustive, and the assessment committee reserve the right to refuse any application.

• Regular operational costs, including salaries and accountancy fees

• Commercial events / Profit making enterprise

• Receptions, alcohol, and so on

• Payments made in cash

• Accommodation, hospitality, subsistence and meals

• Mileage/ travel costs

• Prizes and Vouchers

• Capital projects (for example equipment, musical instruments, plaques, statues, and so on)

• Gifts

• Invoices in the name of the applicant/organisation or companies owned by/linked to the applicant

Applicants must:

1. Clearly set out the objective, purpose and targeted end result of the proposed project;

2. Demonstrate the extent to which the project meets the objectives of the scheme with particular reference to the North/South element;

3. Outline all of the project costs and income in an excel file;

4. Confirm that bodies, organisations and institutions operate as not for profit (further details may be requested).

5. Outline any details of funding from any other public body.

6. Confirm that the project is realistic in terms of scale, capacity to deliver, costs, assistance sought, and timeframe for delivery.

7. Clearly detail the level of own resources being made available for the project.

8. Warrant that all representations made in pursuit of the application for funding are accurate and true.

9. Have all the requisite regulatory approvals in place; and

10. Be tax compliant -Please note applications will not be assessed without a tax reference number;

11. Not use hyperlinks to additional material as this will not be included in the assessment.

Please include details on the project's initiatives in relation to;

- Equality, Diversity and Inclusion,

- the Irish Language and/or

- Climate Action.

Safe to Create is a dignity at work programme that aims to impact change on the culture and practices of the arts and creative sectors in Ireland and to provide safe working conditions for all workers. https://www.safetocreate.ie/ . This programme is managed by the Irish Theatre Institute on behalf of the Department. We recommend that organisations strongly encourage their staff to complete the three free training courses available at this web link: https://www.safetocreate.ie/training-resources/training/

Applications are assessed on a competitive basis and the assessment committee’s decision is final.

All applications received will be considered and assessed. The criteria to be used in this regard will include, but not be limited to, the following:

1. The extent to which the project meets the objectives of the scheme.

2. Whether the project is realistic in terms of scale, costs, assistance sought and timeframe for delivery.

3. The capacity of the applicant to deliver the project and whether or not there exists a proven track record of high quality, on time and within budget delivery.

4. The level of own contribution towards the project.

All successful applicants under the scheme will receive a letter of offer and Service Level Agreement which will clearly set out the terms and conditions which attach to the funding. These will include, but not be limited to, the following general terms and conditions:

1. Applicants will be required to furnish a report on the project, such that would confirm the implementation and finalisation of the project.

2. Officials from the Department must be allowed suitable access to the project for the purposes of inspection.

3. The Department's contribution to the project must be acknowledged on all publicity and publications, and evidence of same must be presented.

4. Any information in relation to the project required by the Department from time to time must be furnished promptly.

5. Original paid invoices in respect of all expenditure must be provided together with proof of payment of same in the form of bank statements.

6. All records of expenditure and related invoice and papers must be retained for inspection as required by officials or relevant auditors.

7. In the case of any individual item of expenditure over €5,000, the requisite procurement procedures should be followed and evidence of same provided.

Failure to comply with the terms and conditions of this scheme may result in funding being withdrawn and/or being excluded from application to further schemes for a determined duration. The Department reserves the right to revoke any allocation, if suitable progress is not made in advancing the project and/or the terms and conditions of funding are not met.

Please note an official announcement with approved allocations will be published on the Department’s website.

Letters of offer may be for a lesser amount than that sought by the applicant. All letters of offer must be formally accepted, and a Service Level Agreement signed and returned.

All successful projects will be monitored on an ongoing basis in accordance with the terms and conditions outlined in the letter of offer and Service Level Agreement. Sufficient information must be made available to satisfy the Department that the project is proceeding and will be completed on time and within agreed costs.

Before final payment will be made, the Department must be satisfied that a report on the project has been received and that sufficient information is to hand to verify that the project has been completed as agreed.

All queries can be emailed to Co-OpNI@tcagsm.gov.ie

Who can appeal:

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 Cultural Schemes and Initiatives Unit in order to make an appeal.

How you can appeal:

An appeal must be made within 5 working days of the date on the decision email. It is necessary to clearly set out the grounds for your appeal in an email which should be sent to the Cultural Schemes and Initiatives Unit Appeals Officer at Co-opNI@tcagsm.gov.ie stating “Appeal” along with your application number in the subject line of the email.

Applications for consideration for funding under the scheme should be submitted as outlined above no later than 1pm on 4th April 2025.

Any funds allocated under the scheme must be drawn down in accordance with the terms and conditions outlined in the letter of offer and Service Letter Agreement no later than the 20th September 2025. Requests for payment will no longer be accepted after the final date and funding will be withdrawn from projects who have not completed full draw down by that date.

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, 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 may be disclosed without any consultation with you.

The Department is committed to protecting and respecting your privacy and employs appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your information from unauthorised access. The Department will not process your personal data for any purpose other than that for which they were collected. Personal data may be exchanged with other Government Departments, local authorities, agencies under the aegis of the Department, or other public bodies, in certain circumstances where this is provided for by law.

The Department will only retain your personal data for as long as it is necessary for the purposes for which they were collected and subsequently processed. When the business need to retain this information has expired, it will be examined with a view to destroying the personal data as soon as possible, and in line with Department policy. Further information on Data Protection can be found on our website at: https://www.gov.ie/en/organisation-information/023ba-data-protection/ .

Applicants must read the scheme guidelines before starting the application. The application form is available here https://submit.link/3kF. The applicant will need to register before commencing the application.

The applicant should ensure that their application form is completed in full and submitted, by pressing ‘Submit’. A draft version of the application can be saved before it is submitted – but please note that drafts and applications submitted after the deadline will not be considered.

Once an application has been submitted correctly, a confirmation email will issue. If you have not received a confirmation of submission please contact the Department as soon as possible after the submission to ensure you application has been received.

Please also note that this document may be updated from time to time.