As the Deputy will appreciate, we wanted to talk Minister to Minister, as Ministers with responsibility for education and the arts. I said on a number of occasions that I would like to see far greater emphasis on drama and music in particular from primary school level. When talking about education, we are talking about a holistic approach and to that extent it must incorporate the arts.
I know the Minister for Education and Science has a particular interest in this because he showed a great commitment to the arts long before he became a Minister. It was along those lines that we discussed how best to proceed. We then decided to set up a liaison committee not only between the two Departments but we also included An Chomhairle Ealaíon because it has a direct connection with the Department of Education and Science in terms of supplying certain services with regard to the arts and younger people. The terms of reference are to assess the development and implementation of the school curriculum.
The Deputy will also be aware that there has been a comprehensive review of the arts plan because I was able to deliver on the £26 million for this year which meant the present arts plan would conclude one year in advance of the time proposed by the last Administration. Of course we need another plan and we need to examine the last plan to see how we can improve on it. That will be the basis for the new plan. Major public consultations took place and there were also consultations with the community generally. I mention this because during the extensive public consultation process concern was expressed by the arts community about the place of art in the school curriculum. This view will be made known during the consultations and will no doubt be reflected in the arts plan. It will bolster my view and that of the Minister for Education and Science that it should translate into the curriculum, especially for younger people.