Niamh Smyth (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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57. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht if she will provide an update on the night-time economy support scheme. [56837/22]

Catherine Martin (Dublin Rathdown, Green Party)
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I launched the Night-Time Economy Support Scheme earlier this year in support of Actions 1 and 12 of the Report of the Night-Time Economy Taskforce. I allocated €4m to the Scheme and my Department consulted with a wide range of Stakeholders in its development. The Scheme aimed to encourage licensed and unlicensed venues to put on entertainment later into the night, in off-peak times, to increase footfall in towns, cities and villages, provide opportunities for local artists and to encourage the use of existing venues in the Night-Time Economy.

There was a high level of interest in this pilot scheme, with over 430 creative and diverse applications offered funding. This reflects the willingness of the night-time economy sector to be innovative and creative in their offerings.

Applications were received from a wide range of venues including pubs, nightclubs, cafés, theatres, arts centres, galleries, museums and retail outlets. Well in excess of 2,000 events in every county across the country, have been approved for funding, they include live music, ranging from traditional music to electronic music, DJ nights, theatre, comedy, dance, literature, art and photographic exhibitions.

The Scheme also included a specific strand of funding for unlicensed premises such as cafés, dry bars and other suitable venues to support diversification and inclusivity in our Night-Time Economy. Cafés and unlicensed premises have been awarded over €434,000 in funding. Venues in rural towns and villages were also supported and funding was awarded to 252 venues outside of our cities.

The fund has been an important source of employment for artists and performers across the country with thousands of employment days generated by this Scheme.

I recently announced that I secured €6 million as part of Budget 2023 to assist the night-time economy sector. I am currently considering the development of further initiatives and we will continue to work with key stakeholders in the Night-Time Economy to examine other opportunities to open up existing venues to more Night-Time Economy activity.