Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I was working on my contribution yesterday evening when everything changed with the announcement that we are to move to level 3 but I want to raise a few points because the entire nation hopes that we will move out of level 3 in the near future. I am a Deputy from County Clare, which is the home of traditional music and dance. Many groups involved in set dancing, Irish dancing and the other dance forms believe that they fall between two stools. The different guidelines that came out in recent months do not necessarily lend to them restarting classes or dances. We know that they cannot happen now because we are at level 3. That is acceptable but when we get beyond that, we need to look at those dance forms. I refer to lessons given in every school hall around Ennis and Shannon on a Friday afternoon. That has been a way of life for people for many years and it has been taken by Covid-19, so to speak. For many people, Irish dancing, set dancing and those other dance forms were their sport so I ask that during this period, that activity might be examined. It does not fully fit within the theatre sphere. For some, that form of arts is a form of sport. It is what keeps them active and energised. The Minister's Department might look at that as it engages with NPHET in the future.

The artist residency scheme is a very successful scheme administered by the Minister's Department. It gets artists into many schools throughout the country. I looked at the figures for my county in recent years. I do not know whether it was because of a low level of uptake or a low level of roll-out of the grant but only eight or ten schools benefited. This is an ideal year to consider significantly increasing the number of groups that would benefit from that scheme. This is a very tough time for artists. Their source of income and the various ways they show their talents and wares have been hugely restricted. This would be an opportune time to consider extending the artist residency scheme throughout the entire academic year to ensure that the artists of a county could hold various workshops in schools and invigorate the arts curriculum offered both in primary and secondary school.

Regarding festivals, Clare has a number of very famous festivals, all of which have been cancelled. That is not unique to Clare; it is happening countrywide. The Lisdoonvarna Matchmaking Festival would have concluded last weekend. The Willie Clancy Summer School normally takes place in Miltown Malbay in the month of July, and there is the Scariff Harbour Festival. I mention those three but dozens happen in Clare. To take the town of Lisdoonvarna, there is very little happening there at the moment. There are many for sale and to let signs along the main street. That one month in which the matchmaking festival is held buoyed up the entire town and gave it the financial adrenaline shot that carried them through many other months of the year. As the Minister prepares for the budget next week I hope that the many festivals that have been cancelled, which are gearing up in the hope of doing something in 2021, might be given some support that would make such festival planning for the new year easier for them.

The final issue I want to raise is tourism, which also comes under the Minister's Department. A man in Clare, Sean Kilkenny, has a business which is an art form in itself. He is very involved in equestrian activities. I believe he met the Minister some weeks ago when she was in Clare. He runs a jarvey business. He has some beautiful horses that tour the county and show at many events. He has often shown up at Bunratty Castle. He brings colour and pageantry to the county. He is one of the many business people who fall between the two stools. I spoke about Irish dancing and set dancing but into which area does his business fit? It is not farming. He believes that business restart grants and all the supports that have been wonderful for businesses in the past few months do not fully fit his mix of business because having performed at various venues around the country and county, at the end of the day he has to feed 40 animals and therein lies another struggle.

I thank the Minister and look forward to hearing what her Department will announce in the budget next week.

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