Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 1 March 2022
297. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media the breakdown of the €50 million funding secured for the live entertainment sector for 2022; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [10969/22]
View answerI was very cognisant of the challenges the Covid restrictions caused for the arts/culture and live entertainment industry in 2021 and I provided grants of over €55m to support the sector and drive employment opportunities for artists and crews, through the introduction of the following schemes:
- Live Performance Support Scheme (LPSS)
- Events Sector Covid Support Scheme (ESCSS)
- Local Live Performance Support Scheme (LLPSS)
- Music and Entertainment Support Scheme (MEBAS)
- Commercial Entertainment Capital Grant Scheme (CECGS)
- Funding for Saint Patrick's Festival
These schemes provided thousands of hours of employment for artists and crews at a time when restrictions were such that there were no employment opportunities. The schemes also provided a pipeline of high quality artistic output.
In 2022 I have put a number of supports in place to support the recovery of the live entertainment sector including the following:
- €5m for the Live Performance Support Scheme Strand 2 – for pantomime and seasonal musical theatre events curtailed or cancelled in December 2021 and January 2022. Grants of €2.6m have also been offered under the LPSS 2 to date;
- €20m for the Live Performance Support Scheme 3 – for events cancelled, curtailed or rescheduled in December 2021 and January 2022. Grants of over €6m have been offered to date under LPSS 3 to date;
- €4m for the 2022 Music and Entertainment Support Scheme (MEBAS). Since it opened four weeks ago over 600 applications have been received seeking funding of €2.8m. Payments under this scheme began last week;
- €5m for the Local Live Performance Support Fund to provide funding to local authorities to support live events in every county;
- €5m for the Commercial Entertainment Capital Grant Scheme (CECGS), this scheme opened for applications today March 1st .
In relation to a further round of the Live Performance Support Scheme, my Department is currently examining all options for the proposed scheme and I expect to make an announcement shortly on this matter.
