The Government’s COVID-19 Resilience and Recovery 2021 - The Path Ahead plan sets out the Government’s objectives for the full recovery of social life, public services and the economy. The plan committed to the development of sectoral guidance for very large purpose built event facilities, for example: stadia, auditoria, conference and event centres. I established a Working Group to facilitate stakeholder consultation on the development of COVID-19 Guidelines for the Live Entertainment sector. This group had its first meeting on 21 April 2021. The Live Entertainment Working Group includes stakeholders with appropriate technical knowledge in the planning, management and delivery of events and is will produce a set of overarching guiding principles which all venue promotors can adopt for their specific purposes.
In addition, the Arts Council and Fáilte Ireland entered into a strategic partnership in order to develop guidance for the safe presentation of festivals and live events. This document is currently at the consultation stage and is due to be published in the coming weeks.
While the timeframe for the resumption of entertainment events remains uncertain and, is dependent on public health considerations, it is critical that a set of COVID-19 guidelines is developed and ready in advance of any re-opening of the sector.
I was pleased to recently announce a new €50 million suite of additional measures to further support the Live Entertainment Sector this year. These include the €25m Live Performance Support Scheme. Applications made under this scheme are currently being assessed and it is likely that many of the musicians, events, entertainment and culture workers will obtain work from promoters, producers and venues that receive funding under the LPSS.
In addition, I allocated €14m to the Music and Entertainment Business Assistance Scheme (MEBAS). to provide the type of support sought by the Deputy. It is aimed at businesses and individuals in the sector that have been unable to avail of other COVID-19 supports and that do not have a public facing premises. The MEBAS will make a contribution to the overheads of businesses, specifically musicians and related crew, that have been significantly negatively affected by COVID-19.
The new scheme will see support offered by way of two levels of flat payments of:-
- €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.
I hope to open this scheme for applications shortly.
