The Music & Entertainment Association of Ireland has given its take on the conference call it had today with Minister Heather Humphreys and Ciaran Cannon TD. The take-out line is: "She clarified that musicians and entertainers could accept sporadic work without it affecting their PUP."

Read Minister Humphreys' earlier statement at https://bit.ly/3gucmwe and the MEAI's reaction as follows:

"MEAI outlined the many issues affecting their members who are unable to work as a direct result of Covid-19 guidelines. Their members have seen their income generated by their profession drop by up to 100% in the most extreme cases. Members are struggling to put food on their table, pay their utility bills and some are facing the risk of losing their home. The Minister is fully understanding of the problems facing the workers in the Music & Entertainment sector and gave her assurances that her Department would give every assistance they can to help people through this crisis. 

"The Minister has agreed to a dedicated team within the Department to deal with workers in the Industry. She also clarified that musicians and entertainers could accept sporadic work without it affecting their PUP. The Department would also make entitlements under other Welfare schemes available to PUP if they are applicable and if the applicant fulfils the existing criteria. 

"The Minister also promised to re-examine the ‘Professional Artist on Jobseeker’s Allowance ‘scheme with a view to making it more widely available. MEAI fully welcome the Minister’s understanding and commitment of support to this sector where she assured the MEAI that her Department would work closely with MEAI to ensure that the workers would be fully aware of the range of schemes available to them so they would be able to avail of the most appropriate scheme for their circumstances. 

"The Music & Entertainment Association of Ireland was formed in June 2020 in response to the Covid-19 crisis as a representative body to highlight the issues in the industry and offer support to its 4,300 members. The Music, Entertainment, Arts & Culture industry generated an estimated €1.7 billion in the Irish economy in 2017 and gives employment to 30,000 people."