Malcolm Byrne (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire. I certainly echo many of the comments of my colleagues and particularly those so eloquently expressed by Senator Black. All of us in the Chamber look forward to a day when we can debate arts and culture policy without the impact of Covid-19. The Minister and her Government have had achievements, including increasing Arts Council funding to €130 million, additional supports for local authorities and the introduction of the basic income scheme. These are all positive developments but, unfortunately, we are dealing with the challenges of the here and now.

I will not go over some of the comments raised to date during this debate but I want to look beyond to some of the specific schemes and the scenario after 9 January. We cannot continue the position of opening live theatre and events and then closing them again. The supports are appreciated but it is almost like we allow them to open, we kneecap the sector and then we give people crutches. If we allow them to open again, we kneecap them again and give them crutches. That cannot continue and there must be an element of certainty. Looking beyond 9 January, the problem for theatres and live venues is they are planning a spring schedule and making financial commitments but they do not know what will be the position after 9 January. I appreciate we cannot predict the trajectory of the virus but it is important that we get decisions for all those venues before 9 January. I ask the Minister to not make announcements on 8 January about the changes that will happen as that would not be acceptable. It was tough enough to announce on a Friday specific changes that would happen on the following Tuesday. I ask the Minister to make that announcement as soon as possible.

Another point I make about January is that it might be very different. By 9 January, if the booster campaign is rolled out as quickly as it seems it might, we should see everybody over 40 and those who are vulnerable triple-vaccinated or at least given that opportunity. Theatres and live venues are safe and controlled environments. In places I have gone, I have been asked for the Covid-19 pass and identification. I have had my temperature checked going into several places. It is important for the Minister to try, if she can today, to give us some certainty about what might happen from 9 January. This is important not just for the professional sector but the amateur theatre sector. We are about to move into the three-act drama festivals taking place right around the country. Local musicals will be staged over the next number of months. All of that planning is happening now and the lack of certainty and a clear roadmap is causing a problem.

I welcome the supports. Senator Cummins and I had a Commencement matter last week that the Minister of State, Deputy Joe O'Brien, took on the Minister's behalf. It concerned local pantomimes and theatres. I very much welcome that €5 million fund that will be administered through local authorities. The difficulty is we do not have details of that scheme. The problem for many pantomimes and local theatre Christmas productions, as the Minister appreciates, is they are on now or are being planned for January. Those groups are already ringing the local authorities, who do not know what will happen. It makes perfect sense to channel the money through the local authorities but we must ensure the money is there and it is a simple scheme that is easy to administer to get the money into the hands of those groups as quickly as possible.

Other than that I echo the comments of Senator Black and everyone else. In all the schemes, the most important point is getting the money into the hands of musicians and artists.