Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 18 June 2015
24. Deputy Dinny McGinley asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht in relation to the Government’s plans on Ireland 2016, the plans in place to engage with children and young persons; if she is on track to roll-out the education programme; the response from schools; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [23552/15]
View answerOne of the core objectives of the Government’s Ireland 2016 Centenary Programme, which was launched on 31st March last, is to capture the imagination of our young people so that they may better understand the events of 1916. My Department has been working with the Department of Education and Skills to ensure that the Centenary Programme reaches every school in the country. Key events and activities to take place in schools will include the following:
- There will be a presentation of the National Flag and a copy of the Proclamation by a member of the Defence Forces to every national school in the country.
- Work will continue with the Thomas Meagher Foundation, which has been engaged in the provision of the National Flag to secondary schools around the country.
- Schools will write their own new proclamation for 2016, to reflect the values, hopes and aspirations of the generation of 2016, starting with an analysis of the ideals, principles and aspirations of the 1916 Proclamation.
- A special Proclamation Day will take place in all educational institutions on 15th March 2016, which it is envisaged will include the raising of the National Flag, followed by a reading of the Proclamation.
- An online teaching resource on the National Flag will be developed to support primary and post-primary teachers, which will be available from September 2015.
- The 1916 Ancestry Project will invite all primary and post-primary pupils to trace a family tree back to 1916.
- Various competitions, focusing on the events of 1916, have been developed by the Department of Education and Skills, in partnership with the Department of Education in Northern Ireland, which will be open to all primary and post-primary schools on the island of Ireland.
Further details in relation to all of the events taking place under the Youth and Imagination strand of the Ireland 2016 Centenary Programme can be found on the website www.ireland.ie.
It is planned to launch the education programme in September of this year and the response to date from educators and young people has been extremely positive and encouraging.
My Department has also been working with the Department of Children and Youth Affairs to support the engagement of children and young people outside of the formal education sector. Eight regional consultations are taking place with children aged 8-12 and with young people aged 13-17 on the theme of 'Imagining Our Future'. The outcome of these consultations will be compiled in a report to be presented by children and young people to Ministers and decision-makers at a major young people's event on 2nd April 2016.
