Mr. Colm Croffy:

Approximately 75 festivals and community events have collapsed in the past 36 to 48 months. We do a national advice tour in the Twenty-six Counties. We have 22 counties done since January and we met more than 180 festival and community event organisers. Invariably, in the top three issues they bring up with us is what we are doing about insurance and what they can do as community organisers and community event organisers to reduce these increasing burdens. This is why we are involved with the alliance.

Senator Kieran O'Donnell asked whether we are at crisis point. We are at crisis point from two points of view: first, the industry is fashioned the way it is. However, in the community and voluntary sector - Mr. Tom Ryan mentioned this - it is increasingly difficult to find volunteers to come into the space, animate committees, take responsibility for the regulatory framework that is in place and then go raise the money when almost a third to 40% of what is brought in from the hospitality industry, sponsorship, fund-raising and ticket sales on the gate is handed over for a premium that is of no value to us in one sense. Communities are caught in a bind because they cannot even be a member of a local public participation network, PPN, or apply to a local authority for a small community assistance scheme unless they have evidence of insurance and adequate cover for the activities being undertaken. They are caught between the Devil and the deep blue sea, which is deeply frustrating. I have been involved in this sector for 27 years. There are no lifers left in the festival event scene in this country. The Brendan Flynns, Harry Hughes and Willie Clancys of this world are as scarce as hen's teeth now given the level of difficulty forced on us by, in particular, this issue, and I wish it was not so. It is incumbent on policymakers to change the playing field; otherwise, we will have an island which will not be as animated or as vibrant as we tell the world it is.