Mark Daly (Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Feighan, for his patience and him for coming to the House.

Malcolm Byrne (Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister of State for taking this matter on behalf of the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, Deputy Catherine Martin. We are all looking forward to seeing our museums and galleries opening next week, but I am hoping that it will not be too long before we see our other centres of culture, such as music, drama and entertainment venues, throughout the country opening as well. The pandemic has made us realise, far more than we ever did before, how important music, the arts, drama and entertainment are to our lives. During this period, there have been many wonderful online initiatives by the artistic and musical communities. The Minister of State might agree, however, that nothing beats a live performance. Unfortunately, we have not seen too many of those.

There were periods last summer where we were lucky enough to see live performances. I was lucky to see the first outdoor live play by the Coolgreany drama group last summer. St. Michael's Theatre in New Ross also moved many of its performances outdoors. During the period of the most intense recent lockdown when the Garda performed "Jerusalema", which brought a smile to all our faces, communities all around the country also did their own versions. This shows the importance of live performance. Last summer we also saw controlled indoor performances. I am involved with the Gorey Little Theatre. It operated in a controlled environment, with limited numbers coming in. It was very safe and patrons felt safe. This was replicated in other areas such as the Wexford Arts Centre and right around the country. There was no evidence, where is was safely operated, that this contributed in any way to the spread of Covid, and the arts community has been playing its part in the fight against it.The Minister of State will know that the Minister launched pilots at the Abbey Theatre and the National Concert Hall in December. My understanding is that those pilots went well and we learned from them. Many theatres and live events were reopened in Israel following its vaccination programme. Again, the evidence is that this has been done successfully. People may be aware of a very successful large-scale outdoor event in Barcelona where up to 5,000 people attended a rock concert, but with the requirement that testing take place beforehand. The arts community is happy to look at engaging with this.

I am looking for some sort of vision from the Government to be set out for our theatres, music and arts venues so they are able to open safely. What kinds of measures will all these venues need to put in place when they open to ensure it can be done safely and with the confidence of those attending? Can the Minister of State give a general timeframe? Will we see larger outdoor events over the summer? We have heard talk that we will see some of this happening in sport; will we also see it in arts and music? It will probably be a while before we see big on-stage indoor performances, but what about small performances? Can we give some assurances to the likes of the New Ross Piano Festival, Dublin Theatre Festival, Wexford Festival Opera and Cork Jazz Festival about what they look like when we come to the autumn? It is important to set out that kind of vision.

Everybody realises that this will not be a very rapid reopening. The arts community has played its part in keeping us entertained and informed over this period. There is now an obligation on the Government to set out a very clear vision as to how we can reopen our theatres and arts venues.

Frank Feighan (Sligo-Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Senator for the opportunity to discuss this matter. I share his optimism and hope that, eventually, the country will open up and we will go back to enjoying all these festivals and theatres over the summer. He is absolutely right that the pandemic has taught us a few lessons, one of which is that the simple things in life are free. We are looking forward to opening up.

The arts and culture recovery task force in its report, Life Worth Living, recommended that the treatment of cultural activities and venues under the various levels of the Resilience and Recovery 2020-2021: Plan for Living with Covid-19 be reviewed. The task force noted that many cultural centres, venues, galleries and cinemas offer large areas with ample circulation and controlled auditoria and spaces, as the Senator rightly said, capable of facilitating large numbers of people in accordance with public health guidelines.

On 13 December, the Department announced a series of performance test events comprising a performance of the Irish Chamber Orchestra at the National Concert Hall on Saturday, 19 December, and a production of Landmark Productions and Octopus Theatricals' innovative, Theatre for One, at the Abbey Theatre for a limited run from Friday, 18 December. These test events inform further assessments of the potential for a wider range of locations to accommodate live performance in 2021.

The test events were subject to the following requirements: each event was ticketed with assigned seating; only the named person assigned a ticket could attend; all attendees were asked to have their smartphone switched on and HSE Covid app installed for contact tracing purposes; the arrangements were supervised by an occupational health and safety professional who engaged with public health; and venues adhered to best practice on ventilation.

SLUA safety consultants reviewed the safety plans for each venue prior to Departmental approval. Covid-19 safety measures were in place and implemented by both venues and included separate supervised points of entry-exit for attendees and performers. Conditions of ticket issue were clearly communicated to attendees in advance of each event regarding face coverings, temperature taking, contact tracing information, social distancing and what to expect on arrival.

At the National Concert Hall, a special Christmas celebration with the Irish Chamber Orchestra took place on 19 December. The concert ran for 45 minutes without an interval. As part of their Covid-19 safety measures, Code Blue first aid responders completed temperature checks for all attendees on arrival before entering the auditorium.The entrance foyer was supervised to prevent congregation and all attendees were escorted to the their seats. Mask wearing was obligatory for the duration of the concert and tickets were restricted to 100 attendees. The Abbey Theatre hosted "Theatre for One" for one adult.

Hopefully in the coming weeks and months we can get back to the enjoyment of all of those wonderful festivals around the country, some which will offer a different level of participation from others. All of the various agencies are working together to address this issue.

Malcolm Byrne (Fianna Fail)
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It is important when the Department of Health makes announcements around the reopening that the arts and culture are not forgotten. It is right and important when one talks about what is happening in sport that the sporting organisations have clarity. Unfortunately, when many of the national announcements are made, those in the artistic and music community do not seem to receive the same level of detail. In any future announcements there must be much more clarity around that.

As those pilots have operated safely, we are able to say to venues around the country that they can now open safely under those conditions. It is important that is outlined as quickly as possible. I can think of no greater vaccine bonus than to be able to give to those who have been given their vaccines to be told that they can go to a concert or to a play or to listen to a piece of music in a safe environment. We need to get that message out.

It is important also to remember that artists and musicians have helped us through this pandemic. Many of them have lost their employment and jobs. We must remember that this is about more than just employment for them; it is part of their own identity. As part of our recovery, we must support those venues, artists and musicians. In any future announcements, therefore, can it be made very clear what is to happen? We must set out a timeframe for the safe reopening of our theatres and venues as soon as possible.

Frank Feighan (Sligo-Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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As the Senator is aware, the Government announced last week that the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media will work with the Departments of Health and the Taoiseach to progress arrangements to hold a further limited number of pilot live events for sport and live entertainment, both indoor and outdoor. In the meantime, the Department will work with sporting and cultural bodies and will make practical preparations for these test events. The Senator is completely correct that the Minister, Deputy Catherine Martin, recently established a live entertainment working group in order to facilitate stakeholder consultation. This group will produce a high level set of guidance that all venue promoters can adopt for their specific purposes. It is hoped to begin hosting these events in July, depending on the situation at the time and subject to the roll-out of the vaccination programme. Effectively, all options for the safe holding of these events are currently being considered and I thank the Senator for his interest in this subject and for his advice.