Mr. Sunil Sharpe:

As far as I know, the HSE and health authorities are saying that they have the situation under control and they will look after us when the time is right. I speak to others in the events industry for whom that conversation would be more of an ongoing, everyday engagement in an effort to open up - I will not say it is a case of applying pressure - a dialogue on reopening. I do not want to say that they have not been successful but the engagement has not really got to the level or stage they would like it to have reached.

A task force is to be established to deal with the reopening of venues and events and I hope it will be inclusive. There was no mention in the reopening plan of music, late-night venues and nightclubs. They were left out of the plan. It is imperative that the proposals are inclusive and do not apply just to seated venues and places with very small capacities. We need to be inclusive and get it right in planning for what the full reopening will look like. It will involve amplified music venues and lots of people coming close together. We must get the process right and it must involve everybody.