Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 22 July 2020
14. Deputy Duncan Smith asked the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht if the night-time economy task force has been appointed; if not, when it will be appointed; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [17502/20]
View answerThe programme for Government commits the Government to establishing a night-time economy task force within 30 days, which would lead us up to Monday, 27 July. I am looking for an update as to whether that task force has been set up.
My Department is leading on the programme for Government's key commitment to establish a night-time economy task force. The aim of the proposed task force will be to look at innovative approaches to supporting and developing a vibrant, diverse night-time culture and economy in Ireland, and it is intended that the key Departments, agencies and relevant groups will be represented on this task force at senior level. The task force will build on the work carried out already in the Department in this area, which included a symposium to investigate the possibility of creative nightlife and cultural activity after hours and the establishment of pilot projects in both Cork and Dublin, which intended to provide a more detailed insight into the specific issues facing the development of a night-time culture and to seek wider public views. The task force will examine progress on these measures to date and examine more complex issues, including issues around licensing laws and regulations governing our night-time culture at national and local level.
Part of the role of the task force will also be to examine the establishment of night-time culture mayors in Cork and Dublin, a role that some other European cities have already established. We know that many businesses and creative practitioners which depend on the night-time economy are suffering huge losses due to the necessary restrictions caused by Covid-19, and the work of this task force is even more important in this context. The support and co-operation of key Departments, agencies and local authorities will be vital to the success of this initiative, and my Department is writing to them to seek nominations to the task force. As the Deputy said, there is a commitment in the programme for Government to establish this task force within the first 30 days, and I am happy to confirm that I will be announcing the establishment of this task force next week. The task force will consult and inform the various interested groups who have been involved in the development of this initiative as the work progresses.
I thank the Minister for her reply. It is very encouraging that she will be announcing the task force next week, and if it is a day or two after Monday, we will not be holding her to that. I think all Members of the House agree that the promotion of our night-time culture is very important. What the Labour Party committed to in our manifesto complements a lot of what is in the programme for Government. As such, we would be supportive of any of the measures that are coming in that we feel will progress this issue. As we know, our licensing laws do need some reform. Many of our pubs and restaurants are not open at the moment and we need to use this time to plan for when they do, not only during the day but through the night.
I have something else to ask the Minister as well. It is all very well and good to have a vibrant night-time culture, but on the issue of provision of out-of-hours or 24-hour public transport in Cork, Dublin and the major cities and towns, will the Minister give any indication of what work the task force will be doing in that regard?
To address the issue that the Deputy has raised, the membership of the task force is under consideration, but it is likely to include some key Departments, for example, the Department of Justice and Equality, the Departments responsible for climate action and transport, and for housing, local government and heritage. On licensing, I anticipate that a wide range of public bodies will have a strong role to play in this but the licensing issue will be under the Department of Justice and Equality. That is why I hope we will have An Garda Síochána on the task force. To address transport issues, we will have the Department responsible for climate action and transport represented there. The idea is that the task force will engage with all relevant groups to bring the necessary knowledge in to make it effective.
That is brilliant. I thank the Minister again for her response. I would appreciate it if we could have some update from the task force on its early work through the late summer and early autumn when we return after the recess, or as early as is practicable. I look forward to discussing this further with the Minister in future questions.
I wish to say also that I will be recommending that someone from Give Us The Night, who made a detailed submission to us, will be part of that task force. It is my intention to invite them. One of the recommendations in their submission was the expansion of the 24-hour night transport services etc. which the Deputy mentioned. We will be looking at all of those issues. They are complex but we intend to address them and have someone from Give Us The Night on the task force.
