Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Yes we are, and it is all part of the section about our entertainers. They are being abandoned, cast away, left behind and stood on and got rid of. It is a shame on the Ministers and his Cabinet colleagues. Stimulus package, my backside. The Minister cannot be so discriminatory against people like this. If they went to the courts, they would win a challenge but they cannot afford to go. Their mental health and their houses are under threat, as are their families, their transport, everything - their very being. Artists are the same way. There is a wonderful artist in my own town. They give of themselves so willingly for charities all the time. All supports, no matter what it is, they give under the arches in Clonmel for Cuan Saor women's refuge and it is the same in every town and village in the country. The Minister and his Cabinet colleagues are heartless people without an ounce of goodwill.

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