Ms Karan O'Loughlin:

The Senator mentioned social welfare and the competition issue. We would very much welcome some sort of arrangement for social welfare for professional artists. That would be a real step forward in terms of the sustainability of their careers. We would also like to have some recognition for training within that system. Currently, if artists try to upskill and they are not working, they cannot get a social welfare payment because they are not available for work. However, they are trying to upskill themselves to further their chances of more work. If we could have some sort of integrated system around that, it would be really useful.

In terms of something that would have a very significant impact, as stated earlier, it would be good if we could find a way to overturn the Competition Authority decision. That can be done by legislation. Such legislation was promised by a previous Administration around 2006, just before the economic crisis, so it would be possible to do it. By way of example, if one takes musicians, particularly session musicians, we used to collectively bargain at an industry level and there was a minimum fee for a session musician. If a producer or somebody wanted to engage a musician, they could pay more if they wanted to, if the musician's talent demanded it or if the role demanded it, but there was a floor below which they could not go. It was not a case of someone saying "I'm a musician and I won't work for that" and the employer saying "It doesn't matter, move on. We'll take the next fella - he'll work for half of that." It took all of that human factor and it took wages out of competition. It gave musicians more room to develop and it certainly gave them more work. We believe there is real value in this, not just for musicians, but for voice-over actors, freelance photographers and so on. There is a whole swathe of people who are caught in this competition problem artistically. Freelance writers, I believe, have the same problem.

We would be very keen to address this issue and we believe there is an opportunity to do so during the lifetime of this Government. It has had a detrimental effect on incomes. The Chairman mentioned the discussion which took place in recent years in respect of precarious work activity, etc. Artists have been engaged in precarious work since the first artist was born. They are the original precariat and they continue to suffer, without any formal recognition of that. That is a key issue in terms of a sustainable career for artists.