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Departmental Budgets

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 29 June 2021

Tuesday, 29 June 2021

Questions (178)

Aengus Ó Snodaigh

Question:

178. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media the headings and subheadings under her vote, Vote 33 or any other vote, the €50 million promised to live performance in Budget 2021 is categorised under. [34585/21]

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Written answers

The €50 million suite of measures to support those in the live entertainment sector is allocated under the B6 subhead - Regional Museums, Galleries and Cultural Centres & Projects.

Projects funded under the B6 subhead meet a specific cultural need and support the high level goal of the department in relation to enhancing access to the arts, culture and film sectors and recognising the social and economic role of these sectors in Ireland. The projects make a very important contribution to the development and promotion of Ireland’s cultural tourism offering, to the benefit of both the domestic and foreign tourist and represent an important component of the delivery of the cultural tourism commitments in the Programme for Government.

As part of this suite of supports, I was pleased to recently announce the allocations for the €25m Live Performance Support Scheme (LPSS 2021). 237 successful applications have been allocated grants under this scheme, the details of which are available on my Department’s website. These grants will help support employment and wellbeing opportunities across all genres and the continued production of high quality artistic output for the public.

I have also made an allocation of €14m available for the Music and Entertainment Business Assistance Scheme (MEBAS) 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. Applications may be made via the MEBAS application portal on my Department’s website.

I have also made €5 million available to local authorities for live performances in summer 2021 to animate town centres, should public health considerations permit. This funding will be allocated shortly.

€5 million will also be made available for a scheme of capital supports for the commercial live entertainment sector. The details of this scheme are currently being considered and will be announced in due course.

Up to €1 million was allocated to the St Patrick's Festival 2021 for programming and it has supported over 3,500 days of employment for performers, producers, artists, technicians, creatives and support staff. With gatherings still restricted, SPF 2021 curated a rich and dynamic programme of events involving hundreds of artists, musicians, performers, creators, and community organisations which was broadcast on the St. Patrick’s Festival TV online channel marking the national day.

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