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

I thank the Minister, the Minister of State and their officials for joining us. I also thank each and every one of them for the work they did during the pandemic to support the sector. What lessons can we learn from the engagement, as a result of the experience of supporting a sector that was particularly badly impacted by the pandemic and following the establishment of new links with elements of Irish cultural activity that perhaps the Department had not supported previously? I have in mind the work of the Music and Entertainment Association of Ireland, MEAI. I have heard it repeatedly said that in rushing back to normal, let us decide what parts of normal are worth going back to. Will there be any change in approach in the Department's work or by the Arts Council in how it engages with and supports those who were supported for the first time during the pandemic? Are there any plans to develop those linkages in the future?