Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I have had a great deal of correspondence and engagement with many constituents that is representative, I am sure, of many of the letters the Deputy received. To be clear, there is no distinction at levels 3, 4 and 5 between indoor activity. That is the context in which the Deputy raised the matter and he compared it to sport, but sport is allowed at level 3 in certain instances, outdoors in pods. There is not, however, any distinction for any type of indoor activity relating to some of the comparative examples the Deputy gave.

To be constructive, I am giving the Deputy the position as it is. I encourage the groups and associations that have been in touch with him and are regularly in touch with me and the Minister to engage with the Arts Council, the Department and the document on living with Covid. We will always engage with sectors on how the restrictions impact people. We do not want to undermine what we have signed up to and subscribed to under the United Nations, as the Deputy outlined, but it is about having a basket of measures and a balancing act to protect public health while ensuring that important indoor activity, whether sport, dance or culture, will be promoted and enhanced. I appreciate the Deputy's feedback and encourage the people who have sent him letters to continue to engage with the Department and the Arts Council.

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