Shane Cassells (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the witnesses this afternoon. I have three questions but I will leave most of my time for the witnesses to respond. I thank the group representatives for their work in the live music and events industry.

Mr. Fitzgerald referred to the contractors, the crew and the support industry, which are not spoken about enough. He also touched on the support network with the hospitality sector. The committee heard from the Irish Hotels Federation last week that 17% of the sector's trade in Dublin depends on concerts and events, which is gone at the moment. Mr. Noel Anderson of Lemon and Duke also appeared, representing the Licensed Vintners Association. He spoke of losing a number of his employees, including head chefs, who have become hauliers and carpenters and who have left the industry. Has Mr. Fitzgerald any sense of contract and support staff in the events industry who are just simply leaving? Have they communicated this to the event production industry working group? Where do we stand on this?

My next question is for Mr. Finn on live music events. In my home town of Navan, our music and theatre venue, the Solstice Arts Centre, is closed. It is only when one walks by one realises how much it is being missed by people in the town. On the issue of artists selling tickets now, events are being marketed for September, October and November. Is IMRO liaising with the management companies in how they are selling those full-capacity events, when it is possible that this is not how these events will transpire and they could suddenly be deferred until next year? Does IMRO agree with this policy of selling full-capacity events right now with the potential that this will not be the case?

Mr. Sharpe's contribution was extremely engaging. It will exercise the minds of many people around the country. Navan is one of the few towns in the country that proudly flies the purple flag for our night-time economy. We have done so consistently over the past number of years by engaging with our local nightclubs, The Palace and Fortyone, our live music venues and our food and drink and entertainment sectors. We have brought all of them together to make sure we have a safe environment.

This is an important debate and Mr. Sharpe touched on it in regard to the plan launched yesterday. Two forces are coming together. We are trying to get people to move back into town centres again and, at the same time, balance that by having a vibrant night economy. Now is the time to engage with local authorities to make sure the planning laws are addressed. I served on a local authority for many years. There is no point getting to a scenario where live music event managers find themselves in court trying to promote events if we can now get the planning laws right.

We have development plans in progress across the country at the moment. As the representative bodies and its members are now engaging with the consultation and development plans, we can address this matter. It crosses so many issues, including planning laws and An Garda Síochána, which will communicate information to us about the influx of thousands of people, because venues outside Dublin will have thousands of people piling onto the streets at 3 a.m. We also have to consider how to make sure people get home safely by liaising with the taxi industry and public transport in all the various cities and towns across the country. I ask the representatives about their engagement with the planning authorities at this moment as we go forward and, hopefully, build that economy.