James Lawless (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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50. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the status of preparations being made for the return of spectator sporting events; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [37402/20]

Catherine Martin (Dublin Rathdown, Green Party)
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Under the Government’s living with Covid-19 plan spectators are permitted to attend sporting events in limited numbers when the relevant area of the country is at Level 1 or at Level 2 of the measures in place to keep us all safe. As the country is currently at Level 5 no spectators are permitted at sports matches or events. However, professional and high performance sport and inter-county Gaelic games matches are permitted to take place behind closed doors.

In the Government’s Plan for living with Covid-19, it states that for very large purpose built event facilities (for example: stadia, auditoriums, conference or event centres) specific guidance will be developed with the relevant sectors to take account of size and different conditions for events such as large national and international sporting events. This applies in respect of sporting events taking place during Level 1 and 2 of the Plan.

I would like to assure the Deputy that, notwithstanding the current Level 5 restrictions, the development of this guidance remains a high priority for both Minister Martin and me. A Working Group was established in September, shortly after the publication of the Government’s Plan, to investigate how a safe return of some spectators could be facilitated. It was comprised representatives of the FAI, GAA, and IRFU as well as stadium operations and event managers, officials from my Department and Sport Ireland. The Group reviewed international guidance, considered learning from spectator events hosted elsewhere in Europe, and consulted independent health and safety experts. The collaborative approach of the group saw contributions from all parties. I would like to thank the members of the Working Group for their efforts to date and for keeping public health at the core of its considerations.

The Expert Group on Return to Sport has reviewed the draft guidelines and officials from my Department are currently consulting with other relevant Departments on the draft guidelines. It is my hope that this consultation will be completed in the coming weeks and that the draft guidelines can be finalised and published before the end of the year.

The next step would be to schedule test events, which would most likely take place in the early part of next year. However, test events can be held only if we are at Levels 1 and 2.  Any lessons that may be learned at test events would be fed into updated guidance and advice for further events. Thereafter, the operation of spectator events here and overseas would be subject to constant monitoring and the guidance updated as appropriate.

I would like to emphasise that at this stage the guidance is in draft form only and no decisions have yet been made on any test events. It is my hope that once completed the guidelines for sports stadiums will inform the development of tailored guidance applicable to other facilities like performance spaces and conference centres, and to facilitate a limited return for patrons at live music and other artistic performances.