Michael Collins (Cork South West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

My contribution will be short. I did mention last night to the Minister, but our discussion was cut short, about pubs whose kitchens are not considered sufficient and they have been forced to close. They will not be entitled to the CRSS funding either because they did sell food previously. It would be fine if they were allowed to open but they are not. Because they sold food that they were able to make on the premises without a full kitchen, they are losing out on the payment. I would appreciate if the Minister could make a statement on that.

A lot of other groups have also lost out because they do not have premises but that did not mean that they were not employing people. I refer to people involved in tourism and booking holidays. Although they did not have a premises, that did not mean they were not employing large numbers of people. They have been losing out on payments. People who were involved in activities, for example in Kinsale and as far as Castletownbere, such as water sports for example, do not have a premises but their business is closed. They are falling between two stools and that is putting them in a very unfair situation. I know it is very hard to expect the Minister to tick every box and for him to find money for everything, but the livelihoods of some people have been seriously hampered during the pandemic.

Deputy Mattie McGrath is the "senior Minister" when it comes to Irish dancing. He has supported Irish dancing in recent years in the Dáil. Like him, I met with the Irish dancers outside the Dáil today. They are terribly hurt. They have only danced for seven days since last March. They can work in a socially distanced way. Money is not required. It is good for their mental health. It is good for the children and for their development. Children love dancing. They have been sending letters and emails to us. It is our culture. If looks to me that in this pandemic anything to do with our culture has been stopped. There is the public house where people used to love to meet, tell stories, sing and play music or dance. It is our Irish culture that the Minister is attacking. He is not finding a way forward. People are quite willing to work with whatever restrictions are put before them, but they need someone to talk to them and to work with them. If that does not happen, then the Government is ruining our culture, but it is also ruining employment that people have spent so much time and effort putting together. As I stated, activities such as water sports do not have premises. All of these issues need to be addressed, including pubs with small kitchens that are not allowed to open now because they do not have a chef. They are being exempted from the CRSS funding. I would welcome the Minister's comments on that.

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