Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

Let us be clear. At the best of times many people who worked in the arts were in borderline poverty situations. Cuts to the pandemic unemployment payment and the employment wage subsidy scheme will, potentially, drive thousands of people into poverty. Without sufficient grants to cover insurance costs, warehouse costs, debt repayments and other ongoing payments, people are going to go under and they are going to go under soon. Historically, we have undervalued, in terms of the support provided by Government, the arts, music and live entertainment sectors, although we trade internationally on their reputation and they contribute so much to our society. They are the glue that makes us a culture and a society.

There must be a seismic shift in the mentality of the Government regarding the importance of this sector to us as a people and a society, particularly in these difficult times.

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