Publication
Night Time Economy Support Scheme (NTESS) 2022 Guidelines
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 is now closed for applications. The fund for this Scheme has now been exhausted. Thank you for your interest in this Scheme.
Please read the following guidelines carefully before starting your application:
The Evening and Night Time Economy (ENTE) refers to the diverse social, cultural and economic activity occurring during evening and night-time hours.
Catherine Martin, Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, established the Night-Time Economy Taskforce on 30 July 2020 as one of the priority actions for the department and on foot of a commitment in the Programme for Government.
The Taskforce looked at the Night-time Economy holistically with the aim of increasing the diversity of events, increasing cultural opportunities for families and other age-groups into the evening and also to look at new ways of encouraging innovation and creativity in the Night-Time Economy.
The Report of the Night-Time Economy Taskforce was published on 15 September 2021 and is available at: Report of the Night-Time Economy Taskforce
The Taskforce recommended that a new Scheme should be developed to support venues, such as pubs, cafés and alcohol free venues, to trial new events, activities and initiatives at night, with a particular focus on off-peak times, to encourage an increased variety of night-time entertainment offerings, increase footfall in our towns and cities in the evenings and create employment for artists/performers, with a particular focus on new and emerging acts. The Taskforce Report also recognises that there is a need to have increased diversification and inclusivity in our Night-Time Economy and that having a balance between alcohol and alcohol free activities ensures that a wider demographic can engage with the Night-Time Economy.
It is hoped that this Scheme will assist this sector in rebuilding an active, thriving, and sustainable Evening and Night-Time Economy. It will allow venue owners test different offerings, see what works for them, their locality and customer base and to potentially plan for a more sustained, long-term offering, adding to the vibrancy of town and city centres right throughout the week and not just at weekends. It will also provide opportunities for artists, including new and emerging artists at local level and encourage the use of these premises for a variety of artists throughout the year.
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, but not limited to 4 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, but not limited to 4 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.
Venue owners will be encouraged to engage with their local Arts Officer and/or Culture Team Co-ordinator (Creative Ireland Programme) to identify new and emerging acts and Community-based artists. Applicants may also wish to run events as part of Fáilte Ireland’s, Live in the City event, which takes place in Dublin in November this year. Applicants can register their events with Fáilte Ireland, using the following link: https://www.failteireland.ie/winterindublin.aspx
Queries can be directed to NTESS@tcagsm.gov.ie for further information.
Objectives of Strand A Scheme
Building on the recommendations of the Taskforce Report on the Night-Time Economy, this Scheme will aim to:
1. Broaden the NTE entertainment offerings for licensed premises during off-peak times, during the later evening or night-time hours, Monday to Thursday (excluding weekends), which will aid the development and diversification of a vibrant Night-Time Economy in our cities and towns throughout the week;
2. Increase footfall in out towns, cities and villages in the evenings and night-time
3. Allow licensed premises owners to trial a variety of entertainment options and allow them to plan for a more sustainable offering in the long-term;
4. Provide opportunities for artists, including new and emerging artists at local level; and
5. Encourage the use of licensed premises as venues for a variety of artists in a more long-term way.
Objectives of Strand B Scheme
1. Broaden the NTE entertainment offerings for unlicensed premises throughout the week, during the later evening or night-time hours, Monday to Sunday which will aid the development and diversification of a vibrant Night-Time Economy in our cities and towns throughout the week. As most cafés in particular close between 5pm and 6pm with some closed at weekends, venues in this category must open until at least 9pm.
2. Increase footfall in out towns, cities and villages in the evenings and night-time
Provide alcohol free entertainment options for families and younger people in the evenings
3. Allow unlicensed premises to test the market for later openings and to trial entertainment options as a draw for customers later into the evening and allow them to plan for a more sustainable offering in the long-term; and
4. Provide opportunities for artists, including new and emerging artists at local level.
Who is eligible to apply
The following eligibility criteria will apply:
The Applicant must commit to trialling a minimum (but not limited to) of four cultural events/cultural activities.
The cultural events must be of a participative or performance nature. Please Note: 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. All cultural activities must be take place before the end of October 2022. This date can be extended to November 2022 if applicants wish to be registered with Fáilte Ireland’s, Live In the City event: https://www.failteireland.ie/winterindublin.aspx
Registered Businesses who are located in the State and have a physical premises/s to host the events.
The business/venue must be located in the State for this scheme and the events/cultural activities must be held in the State.
The Business must be tax compliant.
A Business/venue may only make one application for funding under this scheme.
Who is not eligible to apply
Cultural events that do not meet the eligibility criteria. Please note the following events will not be eligible:
Third level colleges, ETBs, or schools are excluded.
Private Residences are excluded.
Outdoor events are excluded, unless the event that is taking place outside is in an established outdoor area, attached to or within the curtilage of the property.
Existing grantees of DTCAGSM schemes that are currently not in compliance with the Service Level Agreements issued and the associated drawdown procedures.
This scheme will operate with a limited fund of €2.6 million and it may not be possible to allocate funding to all eligible applicants. The minimum number of events supported in this scheme will be four events per application. This Scheme will provide 75% of the required funding, with applicants required to fund the remaining 25%. A maximum allowable grant of €10,000 will be funded per series of events.
The department under certain conditions will consider providing some advanced prepayment of the grant. Where prefunding is sought, 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.
Pre-Funding will be granted under the following conditions:
Please note:
Eligible costs that will be funded
The following are some examples of expenditure (but not restricted to), which are also eligible for funding, but this is not an exhaustive list:
Costs that will be ineligible
The following are some examples of expenditure, which are not eligible for funding, but this is not an exhaustive list:
Notes:
Timing of Scheme
The Scheme will reopen 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. Applications will be considered strictly by order of date and time of receipt by the department. All funds must be drawn down in 2022.
Acknowledgment of funding
Applicants will be obliged to acknowledge the department's assistance in:
Funding is subject to the following conditions. Failure to comply with all the conditions may cause all or part of the grant to be refused, withdrawn or withheld:
Applicants are required to retain evidence and documentation that supports the basis for making a claim under this scheme as this may be requested by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media under future eligibility checks. The Applicant must:
Please note all indoor events are required to cater for health and safety, including fire safety, of persons on the premises under the following Primary Legislation and the regulations and guidance made under same, these include but are not limited to:
Applicants are required to have a valid alcohol licence in place if applying under Strand A.
All applications for funding under this scheme received by the department by the closing date will firstly be checked to ensure eligibility.
Applications will be considered strictly by order of date and time of receipt by the department.
Applications must meet the conditions of funding.
Please ensure that you have read these Guidelines before starting your application.
You can apply via an online application form which can be found at the following location:
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.
For any queries on the application process, please email mailto: ntess@tcagsm.gov.ie
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 Night Time Economy 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
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.
Monitoring
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.
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. The survey will be sent for completion via email on receipt of final invoices and receipts for payment.
Publication
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 grant amount.
Data protection
For data protection in relation to the department, please see information at the following link: https://www.gov.ie/en/organisation-information/df3fe-data-protection-policy/
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 events or any matter connected with the part payment by the department of invoices submitted by grantees.
Please Note: Applicants should contact their relevant Local Authority before planning an event. Applicants/Organiser’s are responsible for the implementation of safety aspects of their event, the department cannot be held liable for an event they are not organising, and/or for the organiser’s failure to implement any advice or guidance provided by the Local Authority.
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.
The Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht Sports and Media (D/TCAGSM) is the grant aiding Authority for the Scheme and confirms that it will respect the monitoring and reporting obligations in relation to State Aid.
The aid being sought is provided under the European Commission Regulation on De Minimis Aid. Small amounts of State aid, up to 200,000 Euros in any three-year period to any one enterprise, are regarded as too small to significantly affect trade or competition in the common market. Such amounts are regarded as falling outside the category of State aid that is banned by the EC Treaty and can be awarded without notification to or clearance by the European Commission. A Member State is required to have a mechanism to track such aid (called 'De Minimis aid') and to ensure that the combined amount of De Minimis aid payments from all sources to one enterprise in any three-year period respects the 200,000 Euro ceiling.
Applicants will be asked to provide details of all other De Minimis aid which has been granted to their business within the past three years. A false declaration by a company resulting in the threshold of 200,000 Euro being exceeded could later give rise to the aid being recovered with interest.
All NTESS funding is De Minimis Aid and applicants will also be asked to acknowledge that NTESS 2022 is being offered under De Minimis Aid by declaring that they wish to apply for NTESS under the De Minimis Regulation (EC) 1407/2013 of 18 December 2013.
For further information, please read: Night-Time Economy Support Scheme 2022 (NTESS 2022): Your questions answered.