Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 30 November 2006
111 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism the measures in hand, or proposed, to promote an awareness of the arts amongst young people; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41025/06]
View answer113 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism if it is intended to initiate programmes to promote the arts amongst local community organisations, specifically aimed at the youth; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41027/06]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 111 and 113 together.
Government policy for the Arts is set out in the Programme for Government and elaborated further in my Department's Statement of Strategy. The Arts Council is the principal agency through which Government support to the Arts is channelled. Having regard for the statutory functions of the Arts Council as set out in Section 9 of the Arts Act 2003, and in accordance with section 21 of that Act, a Special Arts in Education Committee has been established to advise the Arts Council on how best to align the Council's strategies for the promotion and encouragement of the arts with the priorities of the formal education system. The Committee should deliver its advice to the Council by 1st May 2007.
Acknowledging the contribution that the Arts can make to a rounded and balanced educational experience, the Committee will have regard to:
(a) the wide range of demands on the school curriculum bearing in mind that responsibility for determining the content of the school curriculum rests with the Minister for Education and Science;
(b) the need to prioritise and cost its recommendations; these recommendations must have regard both to their resource implications for the Arts Council and also to the fact that the budgetary resources likely to be available over the next four years to the Minister for Education and Science for development of services in the education sector must be allocated to fund existing policy commitments;
(c) subject to (b) above, the identification of what additional sources of funding, if any, might be available to fund its recommendations; and
(d) the roles and partnerships that are appropriate for relevant State and other agencies and bodies in this context, including the Department of Education and Science, the Arts Council, Vocational Education Committees, and Local Authorities.
The focus of the Special Committee's advice should be on making specific deliverable recommendations for implementation over three to five years.
I believe that by giving the arts a higher, more consistent profile at both primary and second level, we can not only benefit the arts, but can also bring significant benefits to the students concerned, which will stay with them for all of their lives. It is important also to stress that this applies to all students, and not just to those who are recognised as being particularly gifted artistically.
Every parent in the country wants their children to be creative, to be imaginative, and to express this creativity and imagination as best as they can. Because the future of the arts in Ireland rests with our young people, it is vital that the Arts are embedded into our education system at a fundamental level, beginning at primary and pre-primary level, and continuing on from there. I have always believed that the benefits of the arts for the individual are greatly increased if exposure to the arts takes place during a person's most formative years, and for that reason it is a real priority of mine to enhance the position of the arts in our education system.
