Ciarán Cannon (Galway East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

We saw a very ambitious but realistic plan being published yesterday on how we return to normal. The plan is creative in suggesting that we do not return to an old normal but a reinvigorated and deeply ambitious Ireland.

I want to deal with two aspects of the plan, both of which seek to support the artistic community. The first is the continued extension of the PUP all the way up to next February, which is exceptionally important for musicians, entertainers and artists who will find themselves on a very rocky road to recovery with little certainty ahead in terms of how they return to work. We have seen many other sectors being literally switched back on overnight, but that simply is not possible with the entertainment sector. I am deeply grateful to the Ministers and the Cabinet for extending the PUP out to February 2022 to reflect the fact that the industry will take a long time to get back to full strength.

Seamus Heaney once remarked that we are not simply a credit rating or an economy, but a history and a culture; a human population rather than a statistical phenomenon. Here in Ireland we have an extraordinary, powerful cultural tradition, one we are very proud of, and we need to see it nurtured and growing. Yesterday's announcement of a pilot for a basic income scheme for artists is a wonderful step forward. I give great credit to the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, Deputy Catherine Martin, and the Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Humphreys, for their vision and ambition in putting this pilot in place. Credit is also due to the former Ministers, Deputy Madigan and Senator Doherty, who in 2019 put in place a scheme to allow artists to claim jobseeker's allowance for a year while pursuing their craft.

You might recall, a Cheann Comhairle, during the early days of the pandemic, when we were all deeply fearful of what the future held, our then Taoiseach, Deputy Varadkar, regularly stood up in front of a mic to tell us of the difficult days ahead and how we needed to deal with a rampant virus, but in seeking to give us hope and solace he also always carefully chose some words from our poets and storytellers because it is always the work of our artists that we turn to for inspiration. Who knows, but right now in our midst there may be another Heaney, another Hynes, another Hozier struggling to survive and thinking about giving up. Yesterday's announcement of the basic income scheme for artists must surely give artists real hope that they will finally get the support and credit they deserve.

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