Ms Angela Dorgan:

I can speak to exactly the same experiences as Ms Ridley. We hear from artists who do not know when they can make work again. We have the same conversations that EPIC and Ms O'Connor have. People are forced to look at other jobs or migrate out of the sector. That will have a really devastating long-term effect on the sector, as Mr. Dunne noted earlier.

The mental health impact is similar to the mental health impact on everybody in this country. Covid-19 was a devastating time, but some sectors of our country are getting back to work and see light at the end of the tunnel. One cannot overestimate the impact on artists, workers, organisations and companies in the events sector of not knowing how long the tunnel is, let alone where the light may come from. Although it may not seem like much, the only thing we can immediately offer everybody in our sector is the extension of the Covid-19 pandemic unemployment payment. That will at least allow them the opportunity to stay in the sector and to contribute to it coming back.

Regarding the question on broadcasters, two issues arose in our sector regarding artists making money from their work. Daytime radio, running from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., pays the most. Featuring more Irish artists is an absolute must. That is why broadcasters need to be represented on any task force. We should follow France and New Zealand, where different strands are coming together so that right hands and left hands move at the same time and strategies that benefit everybody can be built.

The other issue concerning fair pay that came through very strongly from artists was Article 13 of Directive (EU) 2019/790, the directive on copyright in the digital Single Market, which has been pushed through. Ireland has supported this in the European Commission. As a country we must call for that to be revisited and expedited, because the companies concerned all live here. Fair pay for artists for online work needs to be a priority of the next Government.

We should remember that artists and those working in the events sector face the same challenges as everybody else: childcare, health, mortgages and rent. These are all getting more and more difficult. Some banks are now refusing people mortgages and loans while they are on the Covid-19 pandemic unemployment payment. As Mr. Dunne, Ms O'Connor and Ms Ridley have stated, we were the first sector out and we will be the very last to come back. As such, the impact of these initiatives on society at large is not being felt by artists alone. It is being felt by everybody, but we will be the last to come back from them or even know when there is a possibility of doing so.