Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 22 March 2022
303. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media the status of the roll-out of the live performance support scheme 3; the amount of funding allocated as of 15 March 2022; and the timeline for the distribution of the remaining funding. [15069/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraThroughout the pandemic I have been very cognisant of the challenges the restrictions caused for the arts, culture and live entertainment industry and I remain committed to supporting musicians and artists as the industry recovers following the lifting of all restrictions in January.
To this end I have provided a €50 million suite of supports d for the live performance sector in 2022 including;
- €5m allocated for the LPSS 2 to support pantomime and seasonal musical theatre impacted by the Covid restrictions in place in December and January.
- €15 million allocated for the Live Performance Restart Grant Scheme to support the recovery of the live performance sector by providing business restart grants as a support to de-risk the planning of events across spring and summer of 2022.
- €4m allocated for the MEBAS 2022 (Music and Entertainment Business Assistance Scheme) scheme specifically to support small music and entertainment businesses which do not operate out of a rateable premises;
- €5m for Local Authorities to support local artists and performances through the LLPSS (Local Live Performance Support Scheme). This scheme in particular has provided thousands of hours of employment for local musicians, artists and crews, and;
- €5m to continue the capital supports scheme (CECGS) to venues, including for ventilation upgrades and other COVID adaptations. This scheme opens for applications today.
- €1m for the Saint Patrick's Festival 2022
Up to €20 million was allocated for the LPSS 3, another strand of the Live Performance Support Scheme to support events which were due to be staged in December 2021 and January 2022 and have been curtailed, cancelled or rescheduled due to the restrictions on audience capacity at live performances at 50% and a closing time of 8pm.
128 applications were submitted for this scheme and grants of €8.1m have been offered to date. Payments of €1.5m have been made under this scheme so far and payments will continue to issue on a weekly basis as grantees submit their documentation and payment requests.
