| Fís Éireann/Screen Ireland is pleased to welcome the published report from the Arts & Culture Recovery Taskforce, established by the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media Catherine Martin T.D., and chaired by Clare Duignan. The Taskforce formed a cross-collaborative approach in the arts, audio visual and live performance sectors, and the subsequent report sets out recommendations on how best these sectors can adapt and recover from the unprecedented damage arising from the COVID-19 pandemic. Désirée Finnegan, Chief Executive of Screen Ireland, commented: “Screen Ireland sincerely appreciates the opportunity to contribute to the Arts & Culture Recovery Taskforce. We would like to thank Minister Martin T.D. for her invitation to participate and Chair Clare Duignan for guiding this essential cross-sectoral collaboration. “Ireland’s creative and cultural industries are central to our national identity and our international profile, contributing to our collective resilience during difficult times. The Taskforce has proved crucial in highlighting the full extent of the devastating impact of the pandemic on arts and culture, and constructive in developing practical recommendations to support recovery. “We believe this is a critical time for solidarity with the arts and culture community. Screen Ireland continues to support our filmmakers, creative talent and crew members and aims to retain the wider creative workforce with their extensive skills, expertise and talent. In particular, at this time we recognise the need to protect and sustain national cinema culture and the devastating impact closures have had on cinemas. We remain committed to working closely with all stakeholders to provide all possible support through 2021 and beyond, to ensure the industry can adapt and rebuild.” Screen Ireland, together with Screen Producers Ireland, represented a broad range of stakeholders across the creative screen industries. Screen Ireland supports the recommendations outlined in the report,particularly those focused on supporting freelance workers within the cultural sector, in order to avoid enormous long-term damage to the industry through a migration of skills into other industries. |
