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No definitive date has been agreed on by the Government over the likely return of the live music industry, Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly has said.
The comments came as Minister for Arts Catherine Martin told a meeting of stakeholders in the live entertainment industry on Wednesday that she had tried to get certain Cabinet colleagues to agree to dates for the reopening of the industry at a meeting on August 6th but they did not do so.
Officials from the Events Industry Alliance (EIA) and other organisations representing events such as gigs, festivals and circuses met with the Minister for Arts and her department on Wednesday afternoon, following an intense campaign and urgent request for engagement with all key stakeholders within the live entertainment industry.
Ms Martin told the meeting that a date for general reopening of the live entertainment sector has not been agreed.
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She also told the meeting that she had tried to get the Government’s Cabinet Covid committee to agree to dates for reopening of the sector at a meeting on August 6th but those Ministers present did not do so.
Sources said that Ms Martin told the meeting that she wrote to the three Coalition party leaders two weeks ago expressing her “deep concern for the industry” and unhappiness with the pace of reopening. It is understood she also noted the disparity between sport and music events in reopening.
Ms Martin is understood to have told the meeting of live events organisers on Wednesday that she supplied a roadmap for reopening along with actual dates to the Cabinet Covid committee on August 6th. This was not approved, which was disappointing, she said.
Ms Martin also told the meeting that despite multiple efforts and “countless appeals on behalf of the sector” she could not provide them with a reopening date today, but guaranteed them they were pushing an “open door” with her and that she would seek further clarity.
Ms Martin has now asked to be part of the Covid-19 Cabinet committee for its next two meetings on Thursday and next week. Green Party leader Eamon Ryan is progressing this request and "trying to get it over the line", a source said.
The Taoiseach, Tánaiste and chief medical officer Dr Tony Holohan were invited to attend the meeting on Wednesday. Sources say they could not attend and sent officials. Five Government departments were represented at the meeting and another such meeting will take place next Wednesday.
In a statement following the meeting, the EIA said it was disappointed that the Taoiseach, the Tánaiste and the Minister for Health did not attend it.
“We are deeply disappointed that there still is no confirmed reopening date, despite being mandated to close for 17 months, and ongoing requests for meaningful engagement with all sectors within our industry,” it said.
It reiterated its calls for a reopening date from September 1st for the fully vaccinated for indoor and outdoor events at full capacity; for industry and workers’ supports to remain in place and be extended until June 2022, and for a “whole of Government approach” and cross-departmental collaboration for the industry’s reopening.
A spokeswoman for the Department of Culture confirmed Ms Martin submitted plans for reopening to her colleagues in Government.
Referencing the meeting on Thursday afternoon, the spokeswoman said that “the Minister assured the sector that she and her officials are working intensively with colleagues across government to provide the urgent clarity which the sector is seeking in relation to the re-opening of live entertainment, following the announcement on August 6th that the Government will publish a roadmap for the easing or removal of the remaining restrictions by the end of August.
“In this context the Minister confirmed that she has submitted draft proposals to Cabinet colleagues for consideration as part of the ongoing process of engagement across government on the development of a roadmap.”
“In parallel with these developments, the Minister’s Department is engaging with colleagues and the Government’s Expert Group on Rapid Testing, with a view to examining the potential for rapid testing, along with vaccination certificates to facilitate the safe re-opening of the sector.”
Dismissed
Mr Donnelly, who was in Longford on Wednesday to undertake a walkabout of the county’s Covid-19 vaccination centre, dismissed any talk of an imminent return of live concerts.
He said any agreed roadmap concerning the reinstatement of the live entertainment sector would be guided by public health advice.
“That’s a decision Government will have to make,” he said.
“We will be getting detailed analysis from Nphet and the chief medical officer. We will be looking at where [the] hospital system is, the level of hospital admissions, the number of patients in ICU, where the disease is right now.”
Mr Donnelly conceded the sector had incurred a “brutal time” in the face of the coronavirus pandemic, but said any loosening of restrictions in this regard would be in accord with previous decisions in reopening sectors of society.
“We are dealing with a very serious problem which is not only do we have a global pandemic, but we have a variant in the country now that is incredibly contagious and Ireland now has the second highest 14-day incidence rate for Covid anywhere in Europe,” he said. “Anything that can be done for the industry will be done but what we have always done is followed the public health advice and we have always followed a principle whereby we open up in a way that is sustainable.”
Mr Donnelly’s comments come after leading MEAI figures warned earlier on Wednesday 50 per cent of the industry’s workers are at risk of becoming unemployed in the coming months unless greater clarity over the industry’s long-term future is made known.
“I think we need to be responsible about the reopening of the industry for the workforce and the general public,” said spokesperson Matt McGranaghan.
“The next six months could be more damaging than the previous 18 if a reopening strategy does not take everything into account.”