Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I agree with Deputy Cathal Crowe on this matter. I am the chairperson of Sult Festival, a music festival in Gweedore in County Donegal that should have run for its third year last week. The festival has grown to cost us, as a non-profit organisation, in the region of €150,000. The festival has been cancelled and we cannot claim back thousands of euro that has been spent. We have not been able to benefit from Fáilte Ireland grants or supports because of the criteria in terms of the number of bed nights. There must be supports available for festivals that have spent large amounts of money. That money is now lost to them. Otherwise, we will lose community festivals that are a unique fabric of rural Ireland should they be unable to go on in the future. I ask the Minister whether she intends to come up with a plan or scheme to support music festivals of that nature which have lost considerable amounts of money and whose ability to function in the future could be in jeopardy without additional support.

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