Mattie McGrath Questions Ban on Indoor Irish Step Dance Classes

and Tara, I'm glad that you've answered this question. I want to ask you, why have the step Irish step dance community been denied the right to run indoor solo classes following a pod system and hearing district guidance such as other sports and other activities have done? Similar, you know, comparable actors have been able to do this. So I have 1,208 letters here from dance teachers and pupils and students and somebody said they need this to be allowed and we have to protect their rights to dance in this situation. I thank the deputy for his question. I know his specific interest. You've raised this a number of times around step dances in particular. The guidance set out in the government plan for living with COVID-19 specifies that no exercise or dance classes are allowed at levels three, four or five. This precludes any exercise class, including gymnastic classes and any type of dance class. traditional, dance class, traditional, jazz or ballet. Similarly, the guidance precludes any indoor gathering taking place at levels three, four and five and to date no exemptions or just to give clarity to your question. There aren't distinctions that you referenced in your question, just to be clear about that across levels three, four and five, but I acknowledge your feedback and I've had a lot of correspondence myself on this. Given the current epidemiological situation with high incidence of disease, widespread community transmission and considerable numbers of hospitalisation and deaths, it has been necessary to put in place very significant restrictions to assess the current trajectory of COVID-19 and break transmission chains. This means asking people to stay at home and eliminating as much activity and context as possible to ensure the opportunities for the virus to transmit are minimised while allowing essential activities to continue. Unfortunately, this means minimising discretionary activities, including cultural activities. At present, Ireland is at level five in our plan for living with COVID-19. We are all asked to stay at home with very limited exceptions. The Health Act 1947 regulations 2020 give effect to level five restrictions currently under the plan. The regulations list essential retail and essential services which may operate under level five. This list does not include private or any type of dance classes. Under the regulations essential education encompasses primary and post-primary schools and higher and further education where remote learning is not possible. Where a service provider considers that they fall into the essential education category, for example, as part of a national curriculum or as part of a specific state-sponsored course of study, they should refer to the Department of Education's guidance in relation to the operation of education services. The rest can be ready. Yes, I do not know if you are aware that in December 2015 Ireland ratified the UNESCO Convention for the safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage. It is very important that we do. Minister, there are others. Sports are allowed to go ahead in groups and they can practise. The teachers and dancers recognise the restrictions necessary to curb the spread of COVID, but this is totally unfair. I have 1208 letters here, but one of them is very striking from a six-year-old girl. I miss dance. I love dance. Let us back so we can dance, be happy and have fun. I mean, that's 1208 dancers. It's vitally important that we protect our culture and our heritage here, and indeed the dance is a very important part of that. What's the point of signing up to the UN conventions if we're not going to allow the people to write? As I said, the dancing teachers and the schools, they have very safe environments. They're in pods and they have dance studios, some very expensive dance studios and very well designed and they're very safe and very well ventilated. So, I think you're being happy to see. If I could say that, you might not be an answer yourself, but you're willing to sidestep the issue here with this question, certainly. So, you'll be a good learner. Thank you, Deputy Deputy, again. Just to say I've had a lot of correspondence and engaged myself with many constituents who are representative, I'm sure, of many of the letters that you have. And just to be clear, that there is no distinction at levels three, four and five around indoor activity. And I know, you know, that's the context in which you raise it and you're comparing it to sports. Sport is allowed at level three, in certain instances, outdoor and pods. But there isn't any distinction for any type of indoor activity related to some of the comparative examples that you gave. What I would say is, just to be constructive around this, I'm giving you the position as it is. And I'd encourage the groups and associations, which you've been in touch with, you and are regularly in touch with me, and I know Minister Martin as well, that they engage with the Arts Council and with the Department. And the living, the document on living with COVID will always engage with sectors and how it impacts people. What we don't want is to undermine, as you've said, what we signed up to and subscribed under United Nations. But it's all about a basket of measures and having a balancing act around protecting public health, but also ensuring that important, that indoor activity, whether it's in sport or dance or culture, is promoted and enhanced. I appreciate your feedback and I'd encourage the people that are in touch with you and all the letters, that they continue to engage with the Department and the Arts Council. Minister, you're dancing on over to the UNESCO Convention. That's what you're doing. And you're wrong. Gymnastics, gymnastics schools can operate under three and four. We can't. So there is discrepancy and that there. I urge you to consider the physical, emotional and mental and indeed paedological benefits that dance can bring to young people. And the CLRG and other dance organisations to continue sharing their knowledge and expertise by advocating and permitting, you know, the continuation of Irish dance classes, both indoors, in socially distanced parts. These are not reckless people, but they want to give on their excellent intuition that they have themselves. Many of them dance themselves as the Nioga and went on to be world champions. Look at Riverdance. Look at all the different, look at Bru Bru, the cultural activities of Kyoto. But this is so important for us. But many people, you mentioned about schools and classrooms. Yes, 30 kids in the classroom, the teacher. Many people don't excel at schools, but they might excel at dancing, they might excel at arts, they might excel at music. So they have to be cared for as well. We're not all going to be in academia. This is very important to our culture, our heritage, our dukes, I would say. And indeed, going forward, we need this and we'll be proud of this. But if we're going to now have a full year of tuition, we're going to lose them. And you see that little letter from that six-year-old girl. And I hope that you will be somewhat sympathetic and impothetic. And don't be dancing all over the UNESCO convention. What's the point of signing up to these with great fanfare if we're not going to honour them? I can assure you this government isn't dancing on anything related to UNESCO. And we absolutely support our cultural and active dance activities. But the most effective way to ensure many of our activities across society that they can operate, is that we suppress the virus and get back to a situation where we can have a whole range of activities across society. When we're at level five and when the virus is going out of control, there's a limit. Our current message is for people to stay at home. I accept and take your point. And we want to be constructive around this. And obviously the longer restrictions go on, particularly in the levels of, say, three or four, I accept your point that it limits important cultural activities, important indoor sporting activities. And there is engagement with the department, with the groups and the association that you've referenced, so that we can try and be helpful in that regard. But the current position is as I've set out. And we are trying to engage to try and ensure we can get the balance right. And we're trying to be constructive in that. I hope that is recognised by yourself. Thank you very much. Thank you very much.