A group of workers representing the entertainment industry have told a Dáil committee that the sector has been 'frozen', and that a roadmap for reopening is needed.
Victor Finn of IMRO told the Joint Committee on Media, Tourism, Arts, Culture, Sport and the Gaeltacht that workers in the sector are grateful for the supports that have been put in place to date, but that ongoing social distance measures mean severe restrictions on live events will be in place for some time to come.
Mr Finn said a roadmap for the reopening of live entertainment venues is needed and he called for the implementation of the EU copyright directive to reduce the gap between work available online and the amount artists earn from digital performance.
He said that royalties collected by IMRO were down 30% last year but in the area of live performance it was down almost 70%.
Sunil Sharpe of 'Give Us the Night' said the impact of the pandemic on the cultural industries has been 'swift and brutal' and that a way of life has been frozen.
He said venues are under threat as business owners consider more financially viable tenants.
He observed that Barcelona hosted a trial rock concert and that a specific plan needs to be laid out here to give people a clear road map for reopening.
Mr Sharpe said places to socialise and dance are important for people to connect and he said Ireland needs a fresh approach to issues like insurance, noise management and planning. He said planning large gatherings could involve industry professionals alongside Gardaí and he said now is the best time to look at planning for the future.
Liam Fitzgerald of the Epic working group has said many venues have now spent their cash reserves, and have had little or no turnover for a year.
He said the industry did see success from schemes such as the Live Performance Support Scheme but that segments of the sector such as supplier SMEs have been left behind.
Mr Fitzgerald said the pandemic had been challenging mentally for those working in the area, and he paid tribute to the work of Minding Creative Minds.
He said one of the most important things for the sector is to be given time to prepare and he said the industry is not looking to open when it is not safe to do so, but needs mile markers to build towards reopening and he pointed out that the live event industry is an eco system with every euro spent on it seeing 6 euro spent on the wider economy.
He also said that talent loss to the industry is a big concern, some workers, for example those involved in building high structures have moved to the construction industry and its not clear if they will ever return.
