2026-06-11

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]

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?

The Department has responsibility for policy and various funding streams that support the development of the live music sector. The Department, both through its own schemes as well as its funding of the Arts Council, provides a range of support to organisations that play essential roles in the development of live music events across the country. However, the Minister has no general responsibility for live events which extends beyond concerts and sport events. The codes of practice in relation to live events fall within the remit of a number of different bodies and Departments. There are a number of key pieces of legislation, none of which fall under the remit of this Department, that are applicable to events. Part 16 of the Planning and Development Act 2000, as amended, which deals primarily with the licensing of large-scale outdoor events, is a matter for the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. The licensing of events is a matter for local authorities under the licensing of outdoor events regulations, which were most recently amended under the Planning and Development Act 2000. In addition, the events industry is a matter for the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment, Deputy Burke, and the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005. Associated regulations are a matter for the Health and Safety Authority. Of course, the Department will continue to support the live music sector through policy and various funding streams. Ultimately, as I have stated, the codes of practice for live events or music events do not fall under the remit of the Department.

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.

This is something that the night-time economy task force considered. It made recommendations that clear processes and procedures should be consistently applied across local authorities to assist festival and event organisers and ensure safe attendance at community group events of fewer than 5,000 people. The Department has been engaging with the Local Government Management Agency, LGMA, and the County and City Management Association, CCMA, which are leading on this action within the night-time economy task force, to examine ways to standardise the approach to event planning and streamline a system for festival organisers and event planners. Some local authorities, such as Fingal County Council, have developed guidance and templates to assist event organisers. I understand these have also been introduced across other local authority areas. The night-time economy implementation group is continuing to work in partnership with the Department of justice, An Garda Síochána, the HSE and the Department of Health to ensure that we support the ongoing safety and innovative measures across all night-time economy activities, including outdoor festivals. It is something that has been addressed and discussed within the night-time economy task force. Work is continuing on its implementation.

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

Yes.

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.

As a Government and Department, we should always be open to assessing and discussing the challenges that are there, as well as listening to any ideas people have. As I said, the night-time economy task force considered and made recommendations in this regard. I am happy to ask officials to engage further with the Deputy around any proposals she might have and to consider the matter further. It is important that we always keep these matters under review. Where there are challenges and further discussion needed, that should happen. Certainly, I will ask for that engagement with the Deputy.