The tourism, arts, culture and sport are integral parts of the fabric of society, supporting economic activity and physical and societal well-being. The public facing and audience driven nature of those sectors means that each time there is an escalation for any county in the level applicable under the living with Covid plan those sectors will be hardest hit. The Government is acutely aware of these challenges. The need for important public health measures, such as social distancing, has placed necessary limits on …

I thank the Deputy. That is why I feel task forces are key to this. My engagement with people across my Department brief has shown me that they want to have a say. The arts task force, chaired by Claire Duignan, met for the first time last week and is due to report on 31 October which is obviously post budget. That is why in the first meeting I attended last week I asked it to give me its key priorities before the budget so that I can use that information to feed into my negotiations. On the tourism recovery task f…

I can assure the Deputy that my Department and I are engaging closely with the sectors and, in the context of the budget, we are very aware of the demands. Waiting for the task force report does not preclude us from taking immediate measures. For example, the live performance scheme involved an allocation of €5 million. My Department developed the conditions of the scheme in consultation with the sector, with particular assistance from EPIC. The initial closing date was 24 August and by that date more than 100 appl…

Before the Minister of State answers it would be remiss of me not to comment on Carrickmacross. When I was in primary school, which was neither today nor yesterday, I used to buy raffle tickets in the hope that we would have a swimming pool in Carrickmacross by my time in secondary school. It was Dave Phelan who championed it when I was in my secondary school days. I will keep an eye on this development. I will allow Minister of State continue now.

The Government published the Resilience and Recovery 2020 - 2021, the Plan for Living with COVID-19, on 15 September. This is a cross-Government approach to managing the pandemic for the coming months. This plan sets out how the balance between public health, economic and social aspects of living with Covid-19 will operate in the short to medium term. Most of the country is now at level 2, which is based on a medium-term approach to managing risk. At all times the priority will be to keep our schools open, while ke…

That is exactly where my focus remains because from my engagement with the stakeholders, as the Deputy stated, that is what they need. I realise the situation has deteriorated. I am also very conscious of the unprecedented nature of the challenges facing live performers, promoters and producers, not least from a financial point of view. I recently announced a new fund that will assist established commercial venues and promoters to employ performers, artists, technicians and creative and performance support staff up…

From my extensive engagement with the sector, I am conscious that the changes to the PUP and employment wage subsidy scheme affect the lives of thousands of artists and other workers across the arts, culture and live entertainment sectors in a devastating way. I understand these supports are needed now more than ever to support artists in their long-awaited return to work. I have raised these matters with my Cabinet colleagues in the context of budget 2021, recognising that there will be an extended period in which…

I propose to take Questions Nos. 11 and 13 together. I am pleased to inform Deputies Boyd Barrett and Brendan Smith that earlier this month I launched a number of new music and performance schemes, totalling €6 million, to aid employment in the creative industries. The music stimulus package involves three funding schemes designed to help sustain the popular commercial music sector across all music genres, including rock, pop, hip hop, indie, jazz, country and traditional folk. Under this package, a fund of €1 mill…

Both Deputies will be aware that it is not possible to anticipate the budget. I am very familiar with the pre-budget submissions of the Events Industry Alliance and everyone involved in this sector. I acknowledge the Deputies' interest in these matters and I can assure them that I will be doing my best for the sector in the budget and subsequently. For information, the total funding for the arts in Ireland this year is €338 million. That has increased by more than 30% this year. I would never have suggested - this …

I guarantee that I do not want to lose this sector either. I am very conscious of the emerging artists. For example, we ran a programme online with Hot Press for young and emerging artists earlier this year. I also guarantee that I have never undervalued music and the arts. That is the background I come from; it is what I studied. That is where all my friends and family are. I place an immense value on the sector. It is a privilege to be the Minister with responsibility for culture and arts at this most challenging…

Gabhaim buíochas leis an gCathaoirleach agus fáiltím roimh an deis seo labhairt leis an Seanad inniu faoi earnáil na turasóireachta agus faoi na dúshláin atá roimpi faoi láthair mar thoradh ar phaindéim Covid-19. I welcome the opportunity to address the Seanad today to speak about the tourism sector and the challenges it is facing as a consequence of the Covid-19 pandemic. It is right and proper that the primary focus of the Government is on the public health crisis response. Nevertheless, we must ensure that we do…

I thank Seanad Members for allowing me an opportunity to speak today on such an important matter. I thank them for their contributions. I will follow up on as many of the questions raised as is possible. If I do not manage to get back to every query, I will ask my officials to write to the Senators. As I said earlier, the tourism industry in its entirety has been decimated by the Covid-19 crisis. The sector will take the longest to recover. Senator Keogan raised that issue. I am aware of the difficulties being expe…

Senators Gavan, Dooley, Garvey and Conway raised the Shannon Heritage issue. Like many tourism attractions, I am aware of the massive challenges it faces. As it is a subsidiary of Shannon Airport, it is under the remit of my colleague, the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Deputy Eamon Ryan. I will work closely with him on this. He is looking at financial issues with Shannon Airport and will bring recommendations to the Government with regard to these in due course. Fáilte Ireland will be assisting tourism…

Senators Martin, Wall and O'Loughlin mentioned Kildare. With family there, I am a frequent visitor to Kildare. I have friends and colleagues there also. I enjoyed working closely with Senator O'Loughlin and I look forward to a tour of Kildare. On the bogs and stud farms and if they should be opened up, Fáilte Ireland has a tourism capital fund that has developed many similar attractions, for example, in the Lough Boora park in the midlands. Senator Boyhan commented on Carrickmacross. I am happy to meet him for a co…

With regard to VAT, all options were considered for the July stimulus package but we were trying to focus really quickly - we had three weeks - on the jobs and getting people safe and secure, such as with the wage subsidy scheme, and making sure that seasonal workers were brought in. We did that. All options were considered with regard to VAT and all options will be reviewed as we come into the October package. If there are any other issues I have not addressed here, as a lot were raised, my officials will get back…

My Department is leading on the programme for Government's key commitment to establish a night-time economy task force. The aim of the proposed task force will be to look at innovative approaches to supporting and developing a vibrant, diverse night-time culture and economy in Ireland, and it is intended that the key Departments, agencies and relevant groups will be represented on this task force at senior level. The task force will build on the work carried out already in the Department in this area, which include…

To address the issue that the Deputy has raised, the membership of the task force is under consideration, but it is likely to include some key Departments, for example, the Department of Justice and Equality, the Departments responsible for climate action and transport, and for housing, local government and heritage. On licensing, I anticipate that a wide range of public bodies will have a strong role to play in this but the licensing issue will be under the Department of Justice and Equality. That is why I hope we…

I wish to say also that I will be recommending that someone from Give Us The Night, who made a detailed submission to us, will be part of that task force. It is my intention to invite them. One of the recommendations in their submission was the expansion of the 24-hour night transport services etc. which the Deputy mentioned. We will be looking at all of those issues. They are complex but we intend to address them and have someone from Give Us The Night on the task force.

I agree that the entire arts community and those who work in it have taken a massive hit. They were the first impacted, and due to the very nature of their activities, they may be the last to return. We need our arts now more than ever. They defines us as a people. Since the advent of the crisis, officials from my Department have been actively engaging with the sector and continuing to engage with the agencies under its remit and other sectoral stakeholders to ensure that there is the greatest level of awareness of…

I am examining a whole suite of measures because that is what is needed to support this sector. As I have said, my Department has met with a wide range of stakeholders from across the arts and culture sector in recent months. The programme for Government commits to establishing a cross-departmental task force to develop a clear approach, informed by the views of all stakeholders, to protect and sustain the arts and culture sector throughout the Covid recovery and beyond, which in turn will inform the national econo…