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

I thank the witnesses for attending for what I suspect will be the beginning of an important and long conversation. It is fascinating to hear, particularly from Mr. Conboy, Mr. McGranaghan, Mr. Sharpe and Mr. Kitt, about the thrust of this legislation, a significant part of which seeks to develop cultural enrichment across all our towns, cities and villages. It is exceptionally important that the voices of our artists and musicians are heard in every aspect of this legislation. I encourage further engagement with practitioners such as musicians and DJs, who are the raison d'être for going to these licensed and unlicensed premises. I am not asking questions of any one individual but I thank them for being here and for their input. It is exceptionally important that we listen intently to what they have to say through every aspect of this legislation because there is the potential there to undermine that ecosystem that seeks to develop and nurture artistic endeavour, particularly in the area of music. Mr. McGranaghan mentioned that people make their living from this. Many friends of mine make a good living from the pubs of Galway alone, have done so for many years and hopefully will do so for many years in the future. We need to be careful. There is no question but that we need to open up opportunities for late night entertainment and cultural experiences but in doing so, we need to be exceptionally careful that we do not threaten any other opportunity for artists and musicians to earn a successful living in other aspects of the industry.