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

That is most welcome. We need to look forensically at how best to support the artists and technicians the Minister mentioned earlier, namely, those who switch on the lights and are not seen. It is important that all the work we do through the LPSS and the live performance restart grant scheme, LPRGS, is focused solely on that.

Artists cannot survive without venues. The two have a symbiotic relationship. I would argue that some venues are perhaps more interested in selling alcohol than in staging cultural events and view cultural events as a tool or mechanism to earn money elsewhere. These events are not the raison d'êtreof many of these places. We need to be careful to ensure, as the Minister has been, that the vast majority of the funds her Department disburses reach those who create and genuinely support the creation of art.