Niall Ó Donnghaile (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire. Cuirim fáilte roimpi agus cuirim fíorfháilte roimh an rún tábhachtach atá os ár gcomhair anocht. Tá an-áthas orm mo thacaíocht a thabhairt don rún seo, a mholtar in ainm an Seanadóir Warfield agus in ainmneacha leath againn féin. I welcome the Minister to this important debate on this motion.

During his remarks, Senator Warfield said something that struck me. It might not be what people would expect it to be. He said that every day is a school day. We had quite the schooling at the briefing this afternoon. It was incredibly informative and beneficial in respect of what was presented to Members and staffers. It was not just in the context of the practical, mechanical and economic importance and benefits of what the night-time economy does, but also in respect of the societal, community and communal benefits, such as the health and well-being and prosperity that come from having vibrant, dynamic, healthy, supported, invested in and cherished cultural, artistic and creative sectors and communities. It does not matter where people happen to reside, whether in a large urban sprawl like Dublin, or in some of our towns and villages. Much of the time we come in here and talk about assets almost like commodities and simply through the prism of the capitalist economic construct, but one of our greatest assets is the breadth, depth and wealth of talent, creativity and cultural expression we have right across all our Thirty-two Counties.

While we have talked, and we will talk further, about the practical, mechanical things we need to get right yet in this regard, we must also understand and appreciate, as I know we do right across this House, that this endeavour is not just about those economic benefits; it is also about our broader collective, societal well-being. Let us, for example, look at the context of Covid-19. Let us look at when we could not go out, even if there had been the availability of the kind of night-time offerings we are advocating. What did people do then? People started to organise Zoom quizzes. They yearned for connectivity and not just connectivity through picking up the phone, checking in with other people and asking whether they were all right. People wanted to have a bit of craic and banter and to see their friends. If we could do that in abundance when we were essentially in lockdown, I cannot understand why we would not create the space to do so now. We know the benefits these activities brought all of us. Why would we not now create the space, the facilities and the ability to provide that kind of connectivity in the broadest possible context out there? We must create flexibility in licensing. There is no doubt about this aspect. We must also get the bedrock foundations right in this regard. When we do that, and I say "when" because I am confident there is a willingness across this Chamber to do it, and when we get those bedrock essentials and mechanics right, we must then have some trust and hand this process over to the creatives. This may seem hard, difficult and a bit scary to some people, but we must let things happen organically. We must allow things to grow and flourish.

While I have the time, I wish to try to make my contribution relevant. I will touch on some of my experiences in Belfast, where I was a councillor for several years. I sat on the licensing committee of Belfast City Council, which issued and granted entertainment licences. Until the recent advent of the reforms led by the Communities Minister, Deirdre Hargey, the administration of liquor licences primarily resided with the courts. That was okay because as people have rightly said, much of the time people were just looking for the ability to go somewhere. It did not have to do with drink. It was connected with a space being available beyond a certain set time, whether people wanted to dance, paint or whatever else. One of the big benefits I found when the licensing process resided at local government level was that the local councillors were accountable. They were not faceless or inaccessible. They also knew first-hand the benefits the cultural and artistic sectors brought to their communities. Therefore, they were invested in those sectors. They saw the economic benefits, of course, but they also saw the societal benefits. When Belfast hosted the MTV European Music Awards and brought the cultural and artistic world to the city, the global president and CEO of MTV told me that what had convinced him to come to Belfast over other cities was the fact that we had an edge. He valued that most and we must also value that facet. No matter where we are, whether in cities, towns or villages, it is so often our artists and creatives who give us that edge.

In the time afforded to me, I will speak briefly about Féile an Phobail and what a community, artists and creatives can do when they have drive and commitment. The year 1988 was a difficult one in respect of the conflict. It was a dark year. It was also a year when a community in the west of Belfast was branded as a terrorist community, as gangsters and as savages. That community said “No”. It said it was a community with a wealth of creativity and talent, including sportspeople, musicians, poets, writers, etc. Now, more than 30 years later, we have the largest community arts festival in Ireland in that part of Belfast. This is what communities and people can do. From 4 to 11 August, there will be thousands of events in that part of the city. The Minister will be very welcome to come and pay a visit to the west Belfast féile any time, as are our all colleagues right across the House.

I will finish on this point, because the Cathaoirleach is being very indulgent and I know we are over time. I do not want to get in the way of our visitors. I also do not want to get in the way of the vote in the Dáil for the Minister-----