Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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227. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht if she met with representatives of the wedding industry to discuss the impact of Covid-19 restrictions on weddings and the supports needed for businesses involved in the sector; and if not, when she plans to do so. [8516/21]

Catherine Martin (Dublin Rathdown, Green Party)
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Weddings are an important source of income for some businesses in the tourism sector such as hotels, and I meet with them on a regular basis, but many enterprises involved in weddings such as florists, bakers, hairdressers etc. would not fall under my remit.

In this regard to supports, hotels are eligible for a range of supports most particularly the Employment Wage Subsidy Scheme and the Covid Restrictions Support Schemes. In regard to other businesses, the Tánaiste recently announced that the COVID-19 Business Aid Scheme (CBAS) is being developed to provide grants to businesses ineligible for the Government’s other existing schemes designed to help with fixed costs. As part of this scheme, businesses such as wholesalers, suppliers, caterers and events companies among others down 75% or more in turnover will benefit from the scheme. Officials in my Department have also recently met with the Wedding Bands Association, as part of the ongoing engagement with the live performance sector.