Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

The tax exemptions of which the Minister spoke are for people who are already on their feet in the game, whereas IMRO has focused on those trying to start up. These are the people who need to be helped. The report recognises the difficulties faced by early career musicians and has called for business training and financial support. Most of those starting their careers in the cultural industries recognise the dole as a necessary fact of life. Although they are trying to start a career, they have to declare themselves unemployed, as if they were doing nothing at all. Apart from being liable to be caught in a compulsory Gateway or JobBridge scheme to retain their dole, the point is that what they are trying to do in the music industry is not recognised and has no status. The Government must introduce a structure to change the situation.

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