Labour’s arts spokesperson Rob O’Donoghue TD has welcomed government funding to support grassroots music venues, but the funding is only a haflway measure without a change to Ireland’s nightlife laws.
On Thursday, Minister Patrick O’Donovan announced that venues across Ireland would be recipients of a €500,000 grassroots music venues support scheme.
Announcing the scheme, Minister O’Donovan said “our grassroots music venues play a vital role in nurturing emerging musicians and providing them with an opportunity to hone their talent, and it is very important that we recognise their contribution to the music industry, particularly given the challenges these venues face.”
O’Donoghue said “This is a measure to be welcomed, but while venues find themselves struggling because of legislative barriers, extra funding will only ever be a band-aid on a growing problem,”
“The continued restrictions on licensing laws and rising insurance costs around the country is the ultimate barrier to a thriving artistic scene and is the main cause for the decline of nightclubs and music venues, in both rural and urban settings.”
The Northside Labour TD said “over the past 20 years, we have seen a hollowing out of many arts spaces and venues here in the capital and right across the country. We’ve counted at least 52 artist spaces and venues that have closed over this period. These losses have struck a serious blow to the cultural fabric and energy of our cities and towns.”
O’Donoghue noted “Ireland still has the earliest closing times in Europe, Ireland still has some of the highest insurance premiums in Europe. These are what prevent the growth of our artistic scene and nighttime economy, not a simple lack of raw cash.”
“Any extra attention paid to the arts and music culture is to be welcomed, but unless we tackle the long-standing problems restricting the industry, extra grant funding will only ever be a halfway measure.”