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

I requested the first debate on the impact of Covid on the arts in the House earlier this year. The central point of what I said at the time was that life, without arts, music and culture, would not be worth living. I am glad to find that sentiment has found its way into the title of the Minister's report. However, while we have all these positive proposals, what has actually happened? Many of the people who really need the help and are fighting for their lives are excluded from the CRSS.

The PUP has been cut for many of the people impacted. I would say that the Department has shelves full of reports on the need for pensions for people in the arts and all sorts of stuff that never happened. Yes, we have made progress in having a few good proposals because of the campaigning by and desperation of those in the sector, but there has to be urgency in their delivery and the idea we are going to have another report on top of the last one is pretty worrying.

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