Mr. Cian O'Brien:

I apologise. We are having some technical issues in the room meaning that Ms O'Donoghue and I are going to be in a bubble now - for the rest of the pandemic. We are just joining one.

We welcomed yesterday the establishment of a ministerial group on insurance reform to be chaired by the Tánaiste. In our pre-budget submission - colleagues of ours have spoken about this - we advocated for insurance reform. A particularly clear solution would be the establishment of a State insurance scheme by IPB Insurance for the those in the arts and culture sector who are in receipt of State funding. The artists who operate small companies in particular areas often struggle to get insurance cover. Something like that would make a major difference. That particularly impacts people who work in the circus and street artist sectors and people working in some areas of dance. Other areas of general insurance reform could be very positive. The establishment of a State insurance scheme would have a very positive impact on the sector.