Marian Harkin (Sligo-Leitrim, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I take the Minister of State’s point that the Government supports many local festivals, fairs and so on.

However, the issue for many of them is that they cannot get an insurance quote. Some of the money the Department is making available will never get to local communities.

The Mohill horse fair in County Leitrim has run for hundreds of years and was reinvigorated 25 or 30 years ago. It has been a huge success and is the town's biggest day. It essentially keeps local businesses going until Christmas and creates a great sense of excitement and community. Despite that, the fair cannot get a quote. It is not about money. Last night, the International Wild Rose festival told a public meeting in Manorhamilton in north County Leitrim that it still could not get a quote to cover the series of events that it ran in 2019.

The Minister of State referred to funding for local authorities. Could that funding be used to help these groups to get insurance?

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