Minister strikes a bum note
A leading Sligo performer has penned a stinging rebuke to a Minister who had suggested that some jobs will not come back due to Covid-19 and that they will need to retrain and get new jobs.
While not mentioning musicians in particular, Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Proection has been taken to task by those involved in the arts community.
In the Dáil, the Minister said ‘realistic’ policy was needed due to the pandemic as ‘some jobs will not come back and there is no point in waiting for the never never.
“It is best that we help people to reskill, retrain and look at other jobs they can take up.,” she said.
Well known local musician, Seamie O’Dowd has taken the Minister to task.
He said: “Minister Heather Humphries made one or two remarks regarding where musis cians go from here in terms of survival strategy that could best be described as “unhelpful”. What they can’t really be described as, however, is original.
“Musicians that have chosen music as their way of life have been contending with the assertion that they somehow “don’t do a real job” for as long as the profession has existed.
“Like any occupation, some will do better than others, and some will make the decision to change occupation. They usually don’t need to be told.
“It’s also important to note that a life in music frequently presented itself to those that found the doors into more “regular” or “conventional” employment not really available to them. This can be confirmed by many musicians that came up in the 1980s, myself included. During the recent crisis, it’s fair to say that musicians have responded to the challenge in a very selfless manner.
“The amount of charity work done by musicians in Sligo alone for WHO, ALONE, North West Hospice, MSF, and other worthwhile causes, as well as making an immense contribution
towardstow the assistance of people to actually deal wwith the task of observing the COVID restrictions speaks for both itself and for the musicians involved.
“And the immense support locally for these efforts both from the public in terms of moral support and contributions to the charity drives, as well as the practical support and facilitation given by local and national arts administration, in particular those in organisation at the Hawk’s Well Theatre at local level, and Culture Ireland and The Arts Council at national level, stands as solid proof of the worth of the efforts of all musicians involved.
“And musicians cannot alone feel justifiably proud of this, but they can feel secure in their right to pursue the life that they have been pursuing in music.
“And regarding job security, a few things are worth observing.In Ireland, music has existed as a profession for centuries.
“The Irish government has existed for one century. And it’s also worth pointing out that the current government are only in office by the skins of their proverbial teeth, which essentially means that any of them could be no more than a general election away from having to “retrain” themselves.
“I think that government, health workers and public alike can take pride in a lot of the effort overall. We all know that it hasn’t been perfect all the time, but I think that now, assuming that we still believe in the concept of a united people, is not the time for deciding who’s going to go under the bus,” he said in a Facebook post which has been widely supported.