Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Gabhaim buíochas leis an gCeann Comhairle. Beidh mé ag roinnt mo chuid ama leis na Teachtaí Donnelly agus Andrews.

I dtús báire ba mhaith liom mo bhuíochas a ghabháil le foireann na Ranna a thug seisiún eolais domsa agus do mo chomhghleacaí, an Seanadóir Fintan Warfield, inné. Tá sé rí-thábhachtach a bheith anseo agus muid ag déileáil le ceist na n-ealaíon agus an tionchar atá ag an ngalar Covid-19 ar an earnáil seo, dár saol agus an geilleagar sin á phlé againn. Conas atá ár n-ealaíontóirí agus iad siúd a oibríonn san earnáil seo ag déileáil leis an gcruachás ina bhfuil siad, mar aon leis an chuid eile den tír agus an domhain i gcoitinne.

As we can see every day online, this lockdown has encouraged many people's creative side. I wish to take this opportunity to encourage and praise everyone who has brightened up the dark days we are in through his or her online art, music, etc. Major congratulations are due to those who have taken to that form of expression for the first time and created works of art that we will treasure in the future. As a result of this crisis, I can see the many budding careers in the arts growing. Perhaps that is something good that will come out of it. Hopefully they will flourish as a result of their time and our time in lockdown.

This is key to our future. As an island we have a reputation for artists, musicians, playwrights, actors, directors, stagehands, dancers, poets, authors, set designers and many more creative talents that is second to none. We are known as a nation that is artistic, musical and creative and that can have the craic.

Millions come to Ireland to join with us to enjoy the fruits of those who are creative and artistic. I do not believe we have ever fully appreciated the wealth of talent we have on this island. If we had done so, we would have invested much more in helping those in the arts sector. Being an artist is precarious employment if it is one's only employment, often not knowing from where the next pay packet is coming. I welcome that many artists, like the rest of the community, are being sustained by the pandemic payments as much as they can be by such a payment. It is a pity that not all artists have been able to avail of those payments.

I know this is a question for the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection, but the Minister, Deputy Madigan, will have to lobby on behalf of the artistic community. Will the Minister give a commitment that these payments will continue for artists? There is a need for that, given that this will be one of the last sectors to fully emerge from the clouds of Covid-19, due to venues being closed, difficulties getting insurance for displays, and the economic realities we will face as a country with the recession, depression or whatever comes as a result of this. There is also the fact that the tourism industry, on which many artists are dependent, will be severely curtailed this year.

I believe it is vital that we invest now to ensure we can lay foundations for art life with or without the virus, with segregated audiences, virtual performances and so on. One place where greater preparatory work can be done relates to the opening and closing times of venues. Will the Minister and her officials accelerate work on reform of nightlife and the night economy, especially in line with proposals regarding staggered opening and closing hours etc as is the norm in many other countries in Europe. Some of these proposals were given to us last year when I was Chair of the Committee on Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, including by Give Us The Night.

While acknowledging the work the Department, the Arts Council and Culture Ireland have done in redirecting some of the budgets to online performances in this crisis, much more can be done. Can more be done to encourage broadcasters and other media to use their airtime and online presence to increase the profile of lesser known home-grown musicians, writers, artists and such? It brings us back to the debate about how we can ensure that artists can gain payments and acknowledgement from material shared online. Kind words and online shares do not put bread on the table.

What about the reopening of the film studios and the need to ensure this can be done quickly and safely, while utilising the significant skills available in this country to lessen the tendency to bring in crews from abroad?

See this speech in context