Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Wednesday, 23 June 2021

Joint Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport And Media

Impact of Covid-19 on the Entertainment Sector: Music Entertainment Association of Ireland

Mr. Jackie Conboy:

I thank the Senator. I will take the second question if Mr. McGranaghan would like to take the first one. With regard to antigen testing, there seems to be opposition among many organisations, venues and festivals because it would add to the cost of tickets. There is also the matter of setting up areas for people to get tested and holding areas for them to wait for their results. If that is the only way forward and if venues can only open up with antigen testing, that is okay. It is quite interesting. Over the long weekend two weeks ago, many people were out drinking, eating and socialising in the streets. It will be interesting to see the results of that. It is almost like an unofficial test because there were so many people out on the streets enjoying the good weather and having food and a bit to drink. It will be interesting to see whether that will result in a spike in cases.