Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 24 March 2021
557. Deputy Catherine Connolly asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media her plans to introduce targeted financial supports for lighting, sound and audiovisual engineering companies in the entertainment sector which have been severely affected by the Covid-19 pandemic but which were not eligible for the tourism business continuity scheme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14288/21]
View answer558. Deputy Catherine Connolly asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media the frequency with which the flat payments of either €2,500 or €5,000 promised under the recently announced music entertainment business assistance scheme will be paid to eligible businesses; if these flat payments will be backdated to take into account the fact that these businesses had little or no financial support for the first 12 months of the Covid-19 pandemic; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14289/21]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 557 and 558 together.
In Budget 2021, an amount of €50m was provided for the live entertainment sector. Recently, I was pleased to announce the allocation of this funding by way of a suite of measures to support those in the live entertainment Sector .
An allocation of €25 million is being made available under the Live Performance Support Scheme 2021. This scheme builds on the successful outcomes of the pilot Live Performance Support Scheme (LPSS) in 2020. The pilot LPSS was widely welcomed and very successful, with many artists, including lighting sound and audiovisual creatives getting employment in the weeks running up to Christmas. The main criticism was that many in the sector did not benefit from the scheme as the amount available was just €5m. Given that the new scheme amounts to five times the level of the pilot, I am confident that funding will now reach right across the live performance sector.
I have also made an allocation of €14m available for a new scheme to make a contribution to the overheads of businesses, specifically musicians and related crew, that have been significantly negatively affected by COVID-19 and that do not qualify for other business supports. The main features of this new Music Entertainment Business Assistance Scheme (MEBAS) will see support offered by way of two levels of once-off flat payments in 2021:
- €2,500 for businesses with a VAT-exclusive turnover of €20,000 - €100,000;
- €5,000 for businesses with a VAT-exclusive turnover in excess of €100,000.
Under the scheme, musicians, singers, lighting and sound crew and audio equipment suppliers - whether sole traders, partnerships or incorporated entities - operating exclusively within the commercial live entertainment sector will be eligible to apply. The scheme will open when the necessary administrative and IT systems are in place.
