63. Deputy Sinéad Gibney asked the Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport whether his Department has engaged with other relevant Departments to close the governance gap which exists regarding codes of practice for live events; whether his Department is in favour of codes of practice for live events falling under a single Department or body; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44878/26]

Sentiment score: 0.21

I am following up today on the codes of practice for live events which I raised as a topic with the Minister, Deputy O’Donovan, in March. I received correspondence which clearly shows confusion between Departments as to who is responsible for the codes of practice for live events. Will the Department support an effort alongside other Departments to close the governance gap and give organisers clarity?

Sentiment score: 0.36

It is incredibly helpful that the Minister of State read that response because anyone listening is going to hear how complex this is. It is complex for me when I am trying to find information from parliamentary questions. We keep getting batted around. We cannot identify the right agency with responsibility for this. Once again, will the Minister of State do some work to clarify this? Events are experiencing difficulty because different, inconsistent approaches are being taken depending on the local authority and the style of the event in question, be it a music, sporting or community event. There is simply no definition as to what a live event is. It seems clear to me that the Department of Culture, Communications and Sport is the Department that should have primary responsibility for this. Will the Minister of State work with those other Departments to help people who are trying to navigate this? In many cases, they are dealing with this level of complexity on top of already being underfunded and under-resourced. Often, the teams trying to navigate this work on a voluntary basis. They then end up dealing with additional expense and health and safety issues. Will the Minister of State take responsibility and work with his Cabinet colleagues on this? I ask him and the Department to take a lead on resolving this.

Sentiment score: 0.12

The night-time economy task force is under the remit of the Minister of State’s Department. Is that correct?

Sentiment score: 0.00

The Minister of State rattled off even more agencies, which only adds to the complexity people are navigating. Will he, or the Minister, Deputy O’Donovan, commit to meet us so that we can thrash this out a little? We have been working with stakeholders in this space, such as the live events association. The Irish Music Rights Organisation, IMRO, has a big interest in this as well. It is not just about the impact on organisations, however. Our young people have had community supports withdrawn. Movements like Give Us The Night are fighting for the entertainment sector to be preserved as a result of the growing cost of living. Many communities find themselves without places to meet, congregate or have joint experiences. That has a real isolating effect and means that vital sources of culture, entertainment and community are simply vanishing. With the decline of pubs and clubs, including the closure of The Complex in Dublin, we have seen that the hands-off approach does not work. I am keen to work on this, get clarity for these stakeholders and help them navigate what is a complex system that means they are falling between multiple stools. I would appreciate a commitment from the Minister of State that he will engage to deal with this effectively.

Sentiment score: 0.34