Catherine Martin (Dublin Rathdown, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

Táim thar a bheith sásta a bheith anseo chun labhairt faoi thosaíochtaí straitéiseacha na Roinne. I intend to address the committee on tourism, culture, arts and media and my colleague, the Minister of State, will address matters relating to sport and the Gaeltacht.

I am pleased to have this opportunity to address the committee on the key priorities of my Department and to set out the vision for these wide-ranging and valuable sectors. These sectors contribute significantly to our country’s economy while also supporting individual and community well-being right across Ireland. It is important, however, that we recognise the ongoing impact the global Covid-19 pandemic and associated public health measures continue to have on these sectors, on the people who work in them and on the communities that depend on them.

When I last addressed this committee in November, I spoke about the devastating impact that has been felt by workers and businesses throughout our tourism, culture, arts, sports, Gaeltacht and media sectors, as well as the measures that my Department had put into place to mitigate against the harmful effects of the pandemic. We have since faced another wave of the virus and, along with it, another period of level 5 restrictions has been imposed on these hard-hit sectors. I am deeply conscious of the effects that measures taken in the interests of public health have had on our ability to participate in the arts, to watch a match or to enjoy a meal or a night out with friends, as well as the ability for artists, workers and businesses to provide these uniquely valued experiences. We should also recognise that the tough decisions that were made have enabled all of us, through collective action, to protect the most vulnerable in our society. With the ongoing roll-out of the vaccination programme, we find ourselves at the beginning of a process where we can start to move on from the pandemic and focus our efforts on economic and social recovery.

Over the coming months, as the restrictions ease and the vaccine programme is rolled out, we will see the safe and successful reopening of our society, and with it our tourism sector, our arts and culture venues and events and the eventual welcoming back of fans to our sports grounds. I am confident that the Government is ready to meet the challenges and opportunities of recovery. Covid-19 Resilience and Recovery 2021 - The Path Ahead recognises, in particular, the need for bespoke sectoral supports to address the worst affected sectors, such as tourism and culture, in the forthcoming national economic recovery plan.

Last week we saw the initial easing of some restrictions and yesterday saw the return of more high-performance sports and training for adult inter-county GAA teams. This is just the beginning of the positive changes we hope to see this year. From 26 April, our young people will be able to return to outdoor non-contact sports and dance training, which will provide a much needed well-being dividend. We are guided at all times by the health advice, we look forward to returning to in-person cultural and sporting events and being able to visit galleries, museums and libraries. The prospect of being able to eat in a restaurant or café or go on holidays within Ireland is on the horizon if the epidemiological position continues to improve. We are looking forward to the time we can welcome international visitors back to our shores.

As we emerge from the most difficult period of the pandemic, my Department will continue to prioritise the development and implementation of targeted supports for the sectors most affected by the pandemic. We will also work across Government to develop a national economic recovery plan that addresses the specific sectoral issues of our sectors, in line with the commitment set out in Covid-19 Resilience and Recovery 2021 - The Path Ahead.

I announced a new €55 million support fund as part of budget 2021 for strategic tourism businesses and €5 million for training and digitalisation support in the sector. These measures will complement the employment wage subsidy scheme, pandemic unemployment payment and Covid restrictions support scheme schemes and the restart scheme. Recently, as part of a suite of measures to support the live entertainment sector, I was pleased to announce details of a €25 million live performance support scheme for 2021, which is aimed at supporting employment and well-being opportunities across all genres of live entertainment and the continued production of high quality artistic output for the public. I also recently announced the new music and entertainment business assistance scheme, which will make a contribution to the overheads of businesses, including musicians, crew and engineers, that have been significantly negatively affected by Covid-19 and that do not have a rateable premises.

Earlier this month, initial applications opened for a new €17 million outdoor dining enhancement scheme being delivered in partnership between Fáilte Ireland and local authorities across the country. This scheme will provide funding for tourism and hospitality business to develop and increase their outdoor seating capacity and will also provide funding to local authorities to develop permanent outdoor public dining spaces in towns and urban centres, similar to those that exist in various European cities. These are just some examples of the kinds of supports that are needed to support hard-hit sectors as we transition out of the current restrictions, and I will continue to do everything-----