Ciarán Cannon (Galway East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses for their excellent opening remarks. I wholeheartedly support the case they make in describing Irish dance as an intrinsic part of our culture and a critical part of the educational offering we make to children all over the country. I come from east Galway, where Irish dancing is very much an intrinsic part of local communities. I partook in Irish dancing at an earlier age, rather unsuccessfully. My wife was incredibly more successful. We celebrate the cultural achievements of our communities through various different channels including music and dance. The young people who excel in Irish dancing are always held up as wonderful representatives of our community, nationally and internationally.

As the current restrictions stand, at level 3 it is not possible to hold what are described as indoor gatherings. The only concession that is made in that context is education, which is critically important to our young people. What, if any, engagement have the witnesses had with the Departments of Education or Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media on the possibility of concessions being made to allow dance classes to take place? What sort of conditions have they described that could be put in place to maximise the safety of such classes? Even now, as we embark on the road of returning to level 3 over the next few days, amendments are being made to what was originally described as level 3. Hopefully a significant amount of flexibility will be possible in terms of how we manage level 3 and level 2 going forward. If we were to make the case, which I am open to doing, not only for Irish dance but also for music tuition, which is very close to my heart, that opportunities for these activities should be made available to young people at level 3, what safety measures could teachers commit to putting in place? What sort of engagement, if any, have the dance organisations had with both Departments on the prospect of allowing dance classes to resume?