Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for his comprehensive reply. He is correct that significant action has been taken by the Government to support venues and individual artists. He is also correct that the arts and culture sector is intrinsic to our identity and sense of ourselves. The Minister and I share a deep interest in the practice of arts and culture in this country. One of the largest outgoings venues have is their annual insurance bill. There is currently no blanket refund scheme in place, such as those we have seen in the motor insurance and private health insurance sectors earlier this year to reflect the facts that people did not have access to certain hospital treatments during the first lockdown and the roads were less busy during that lockdown period. That was reflected in motor insurance and health insurance refunds. I ask the Minister to look deeply at this. I am aware of organisations throughout the country and in my constituency that had to battle very hard with their insurance companies to access individual refunds. I ask the Government to take a closer look at the matter.

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