Eugene Murphy (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

First, I join Senator Dolan in saying what a great day yesterday was for our region and the towns in the midlands. It is a significant amount of money. I spoke to many people yesterday and, like Senator Dolan, I was delighted to be involved in seeking those projects from Ballinasloe to Ballyforan to Lanesborough and throughout parts of Roscommon and east Galway and the adjoining counties. It is a sign of a Government delivering what it promised it would do, which is important for people. We need it there.

I support Senator McGreehan's call for a debate on the cost of insurance. Will the Leader also invite the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sports and Media, Deputy Catherine Martin, to the House to discuss the arts and entertainment businesses? I constantly make the case that they will be the last in line to return to business because of the nature of their businesses. Whatever happens with vaccines, and we hope that will work out and we can get back to some form of normality as quickly as possible, the arts and entertainment sectors will be at the end of the line in terms of getting back to business. They have worries. Obviously, the €350 payment is very important, and they would like that to continue. These sectors also have great expense with regard to transport. If one is an engineer or in a band, or one is preparing a stand for a performance, one cannot have a vehicle that has a 03 D or 03 RN registration. It must be from 2018, 2019 or 2020. The cost of vehicles to these sectors is enormous. We must take another look at these sectors. I ask the Leader to invite the Minister to the House for a debate on how we could, perhaps, further improve any payments we make to them.