Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, RISE) | Oireachtas source

I have several questions for the Minister, so I will ask a question followed by an answer and the same again, if possible. It is a bit frustrating listening to the Minister and some of the other Fine Gael Deputies, whose contributions have involved giving lip service to the idea of the importance of the arts, combined with a certain supposed realism about what can be done in terms of funding. It is the same approach that existed before the crisis but repackaged for the crisis.

It is precisely that lip service, combined with a significant absence of support, including low levels of public support compared to the European average, for example, that have left the arts sector in the state it is in and particularly vulnerable to this crisis. In reality, the Government now appears to be doubling down on that.

One very concrete question has been asked, but I will leave time for the Minister to answer. I refer to the situation facing arts workers who have not only lost all of their income but who, in many cases, have been left out of pocket because they have invested in projects which had to be cancelled. Some are still renting studios and other spaces even though they are unable to use them. Some are unable to access even the pandemic unemployment payment because of the precarious nature of their job. Does the Minister support the demands of the #artsblackout campaign to streamline access and accept a letter of reference from any Irish cultural organisation? That would mean that those who work in the arts could access this payment.

From what she said earlier, I get the impression that the Minister does not agree that supports must be continued at the same level until, at the very least, the ban on mass gatherings and events is lifted. Afterwards, we should not go back to the old, inadequate payments. The Minister says we cannot have inequity, but why are we levelling down? Why are we not levelling up? Why are we not reviewing all of the payments and, as part of that, ensuring that arts workers have stable incomes, the bottom floor of which is the basic minimum the Government has effectively accepted people need to survive on, namely the €350 weekly payment?

See this speech in context