The Event Industry Association of Ireland (EIAI) will appear before the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Arts, Media, Communications, Culture and Sport to present its submission on Developing Ireland’s Live Music Industry.
Date: Wednesday, 11 February 2026
Time: 12.30pm
Location: Committee Room 1, LH2000, Leinster House
Format: Public committee session (livestreamed)
EIAI’s submission is focused on a central issue facing live music in Ireland: talent alone is not enough. Without a safe, resourced and repeatable delivery system, live music cannot be sustained week-to-week across venues, towns and regions.
Post-Covid, the sector did not just lose revenue, it lost delivery capacity. Grassroots gigs, emerging promoters, small venues and touring circuits have been disproportionately affected by inconsistent processes, outdated guidance, rising delivery costs and uneven local enabling conditions. These pressures are now constraining the live music pipeline itself.
EIAI’s core position is that live music policy cannot succeed without a functioning events delivery ecosystem, one that is consistent, risk-based, locally enabled and designed to support volume, not just one-off or flagship activity.
The submission argues that live music does not happen in isolation. It depends on:
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venues and public spaces that can be activated safely and predictably
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trained crews, promoters and suppliers who can work regularly
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local authority processes that are proportionate, consistent and defensible
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national guidance and Codes of Practice that are current, usable and maintained
Where these conditions are weak or fragmented, grassroots and emerging activity is the first to fall away, precisely where Ireland’s future live music talent is developed.
Drawing on lessons from sport and from Ireland’s own Business Events 2030 strategy, EIAI’s submission sets out a delivery-led framework to rebuild repeatable live music capacity. Key proposals include:
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a Strategic National Events Plan implemented locally to support year-round programming
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a National Events Support Office to strengthen local authority enabling capacity
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an LGMA-hosted National Events Centre of Excellence to maintain guidance, support consistency and reduce inter-county variance
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a Live Music Pathways Programme linking education, first gigs, grassroots venues and touring
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practical supports to stabilise grassroots venue programming and expand safe capacity in public and community spaces, including noise mitigation initiatives
Crucially, the submission does not propose new approval layers or centralised licensing. Instead, it focuses on providing the national supports, guidance and shared expertise needed to allow local decision-making to work more consistently and confidently, reducing friction, delays and cancellations that undermine live music delivery.
EIAI represents the professional delivery ecosystem that makes live music possible: promoters, producers, venues, festivals, technical suppliers and event safety practitioners. This appearance reflects sustained engagement with policymakers on the need to treat live music not only as cultural output, but as a system that must be enabled, maintained and renewed.
Watch the Committee Session
The committee meeting will be livestreamed on Oireachtas TV.
Livestream: https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/oireachtas-tv/
Date & time: Wednesday, 11 February 2026 at 12.30pm
EIAI members and stakeholders are encouraged to tune in and follow the discussion.
Further updates and commentary will be shared following the committee appearance.
