Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

My Department is very much aware that many people from the music or arts sectors are not yet in a position to return to employment. For these people, many of whom are self-employed, the PUP continues to be an important income support. Rather than seeking to move people off this payment, I was pleased to work with the sector and to make changes to the scheme so that self-employed artists and performers can earn €960 over an eight-week period while continuing to receive the PUP.

The Government also set up the arts and culture task force and recovery oversight groups. In response to the task force recommendations, I am working very closely with my Cabinet colleague, the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport, Gaeltacht and Media, Deputy Catherine Martin, to develop a basic income guarantee scheme for artists.

Separately, my Department is developing and rolling out a range of supports to help all people displaced from employment as a result of the pandemic to return to employment. My Department is now engaging with people in receipt of the PUP for a prolonged duration to check in with them and, where appropriate, advise them of the range of supports and services available to retrain and reskill. As an initial phase of this engagement, the Department has started to make contact with people who have been in continuous receipt of the PUP since it was first introduced in March 2020. These contacts do not target any sector, nor do they exclude any sector. They are designed to be supportive and informative. The response to date has been very positive and it is heartening that many of the people contacted are confident that their jobs should return over the coming weeks.

To be absolutely clear, we do not expect artists or musicians, who are obviously still waiting for their sector to reopen, to engage in retraining. My Department is making people aware of the supports that are available across the board and it is up to individuals to decide on a voluntary basis if they want to take up those supports. The Deputy will appreciate that this initial engagement with PUP recipients is an essential first step to ensure persons whose employment has been most affected by Covid are aware of the options available to them.

See this speech in context