EPIC Working Group are marking the one-year anniversary of the events industry in Ireland being forced to shut down by the ongoing pandemic, with the launch of a new campaign, 365 Days of Darkness.

As part of the campaign, they're calling on the public to contact their TDs, and request that they raise the urgent need for key financial supports for Events Sector SMEs with cabinet ministers and any other relevant people.

There are three key points that EPIC say must be addressed urgently:

1. Continued PUP and EWSS until 6 months after mass gatherings are permitted again.
2. Meaningful and ongoing fixed costs supports for SMEs in the sector.
3. Tax warehousing without penalty for at least 12 months after mass gatherings are permitted again.

Although EPIC welcome the €50m funding that was recently announced, they argue that "it fails once more to address the needs of our SMEs - small one off grants and moderate funding for streamed and limited events will not support an industry with no road map." The onus now, it appears, is on the Department of Trade, Enterprise and Employment...

"We have been left out in the dark," they continue. "35,000 workers have been unable to earn a living from their trade. Hundreds of businesses have been placed into a state of paralysis, unable to trade, but still incurring ongoing costs. There has been no direct support for these businesses. We are losing the infrastructure that events in Ireland rely on. Without our supply chain, there will be no concerts, no festivals. Without our workers, there will be no stages built in green fields, no product launches with mind boggling tech, the trucks will not be loaded, the stages will remain dark."

Listen to Niall Breslin's spoken word piece, '365 Days of Darkness', below: