Grants up to €50k available for concerts and events companies
An €11.5 million Events Sector Covid Support Scheme (ESCSS) has been launched targeted at SMEs that have been affected significantly by the COVID-19 public health restrictions. A grant of up to €50,000 is available to successful applicants as a contribution to their fixed costs.
The Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Leo Varadkar, and Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media Catherine Martin launched the new support scheme to help companies working in the events sector.
Minister Catherine Martin said: “The Events Industry was one of the first sectors to close and unfortunately will be one of the last to reopen. It provides work for tens of thousands of people and is the lifeblood for many services and suppliers in villages, towns and cities throughout the country”.
The scheme will be run by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media and is in addition to the packages the government has put in place to help businesses and workers during the pandemic, including the Employment Wage Subsidy Scheme (EWSS), the Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP), the Covid Restrictions Support Scheme (CRSS), the Music and Entertainment Business Assistance Scheme (MEBAS), the Small Business Assistance Scheme for COVID (SBASC), low-cost loans, the deferral and warehousing of tax liabilities and the waiver of commercial rates.
To be eligible for this scheme the business must have been ineligible for support under the Covid Restrictions Support Scheme (CRSS) operated by Revenue.
Guidelines for the scheme can be found at gov.ie/ESCSS
Queries on the scheme can be emailed to ESCSS@tcagsm.gov.ie
