Annie Hoey (Labour) | Oireachtas source

My colleague, Senator Marie Sherlock, wrote to the Minister in September about support for circuses and events like that. She is still awaiting a reply. May I ask why circuses are pointedly excluded from the Covid restrictions support scheme. I will ask my other questions together so that the Minister has time to answer them. On the stay and spend initiative, does she have an update on how well that is doing? There was talk of a cash incentive instead. Has the Department considered that and does the Minister believe a cash incentive would be better or that the stay and spend scheme is effective?

I have a brief question relating to sport. Does the Minister believe that GAA matches should be free to air given that they are going ahead, at least somewhat, to benefit the nation's mental health, yet in respect of Sky, some 50% of households will not be able to see those matches live? It seems somewhat exclusionary in terms of our national sport.