Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I support amendment No. 59 from Deputy Boyd Barrett and his group. It is very important and relates to having a report to evaluate how the CRSS is working. We all know that these schemes were introduced in a hurry. There was not much time to devise them and the schemes are broadly based. However, there are certain cohorts that have not been embraced at all from the point of view of the scheme. I refer to publicans aged over 66, bus drivers, self-employed taxi drivers who own their taxis and those who have ready-mix trucks. It is a large cohort.

Some of those involved in the music and arts industry have great bands and a great following all over the world, from Nashville to Ballydehob, but I am talking about the local ones in Tiobraid Árann, from Carrick-on-Suir to Moneygall, and the valuable entertainment they give. There is the famous Louise Morrissey, Trudi Lalor, Fran Curry and Muriel. I could stay naming them for the day. They give great enjoyment and they have a large following. I do not know if they will ever be able to fine-tune their voices again and to get back on the road. The spirit will not be killed in them, because they have the spirit to entertain and they love it. They get empathy back from the full halls and other venues such as the Brú Ború cultural centre. They travel far and near. They must have a van to deliver their equipment, whether they are solo acts or two persons. It is usually only one or two people. The equipment costs a fortune. Sound engineers and lighting engineers are also required. The valuable pieces of equipment are very specialised. They have put lots of money into it, but they have also trained heavily in how to use it. They cannot avail of the scheme because they do not have a rateable building, as their investment is in the van parked outside the house. They had to borrow for that. In many cases they also have a lien on their house to cover the payments and they are not getting what they should be getting. It is a case of ní neart go cur le chéile. They are not getting those supports and there are many others in a similar position.

I will finish on this point, a Cheann Comhairle. This morning there were dance teachers outside Leinster House, mainly from Dublin, but they were also from as far away as Wexford, Gorey and New Ross. They have been denied the right to go back to work. Children had written letters to say how much they love dance, that they want to dance and asking to be let dance. As Deputy Michael Healy-Rae said last night, I am into Irish dancing. There are many forms of dance from ballet to the performance arts and they have massive studios which are safe places. There may be 30 children in a class in a prefab with a múinteoir and perhaps two special needs assistants in a small area, while there are dance studios four times as big as that with proper ventilation. Something must be done for those people to allow them to get back to work, not only for the teachers, the múinteoirí, and the families and businesses but for their mental health and the rinceoirí óga, the young dancers, regardless of the type of dance they do. The types of dance are wide and varied. I have never even seen many of them. Children want to dance. It is not fair that a boy and a girl in a dance school are not allowed to dance or to get tuition but a boy can go to train for GAA, rugby and soccer. They are just kept away from dancing. It is very hard to keep buachaillí óga involved in dance of any form because in the teenage years they drift off into cooler stuff. For some children, dancing is their thing. Look at Riverdance. Look at Scoil Rince Ní Chraith. I must declare an interest in that as it is my own niece. My own daughter wanted to go to the world championship this year but that did not happen. They have all been devastated, but they need to get back to dance because it is their life and they love it. It is part of our culture and heritage and it is protected under a European convention. We are trampling over the Constitution and we must go back to basics and let these people flourish. Look at the added value we will get. Look at what Riverdance brought to us and all the other shows. Look at Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann travelling the world, across four or five continents. That is progress and we need to embrace that again.

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