Lawrie Hooper, Minister for Enterprise, confirmed yesterday that there had only been 13 successful applicants for the Domestic Event Fund.

This was revealed in the House of Keys when Castletown, Arbory and Malew MHK, Jason Moorhouse, asked Lawrie Hooper, how many successful applications there were to the Domestic Event Fund.

The Domestic Event Fund supports hospitality businesses, local authorities, charities and event organisers to stimulate economic activity in the island during the quiet months of the year.

The fund re-launched in October 2022, and was first launched October 2020, and since its launch in 2020, the fund has supported 80 events.

The fund will support up to a maximum of 80% of the total costs associated with the development of domestic focused events with the remaining money being sourced and confirmed by the event organiser prior to funding being agreed.

Mr Hooper said: ‘The Domestic Event Fund was relaunched to provide local support.

‘The key aim was to stimulate domestic activity, applications can be accepted until the end of March.’

‘The department has approved 13 applications, 12 of these are from businesses, and one is from a local authority.

A follow-up question from Mr Moorhouse asked what the projected spend for the scheme was.

Mr Hooper responded: ‘I don’t have the budget to hand, but in terms of whether or not there are many, there is a significant amount of outreach.’

He added: ‘There is not as much uptake as I would have liked, but the aim of the fund is to help businesses if they need the funding.’

Applications for the fund close March 17, 2023, and all events funded by it must have taken place by March 31, 2023.

To find out more information about it, visit businessisleofman.com