Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 16 July 2014
151. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the extent to which children are encouraged to become involved in and have an appreciation for the arts at local and national level; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [31941/14]
Amharc ar fhreagraPrimary responsibility for the promotion of the arts at all levels throughout the country is devolved to the Arts Council. The Council is funded by my Department and is statutorily independent in its day-to-day operations, including funding decisions. In 2014, the Arts Council will receive an allocation of almost €57 million. Details of all funding decisions by the Arts Council to arts practitioners, arts groups and venues, including arts centres, are available on the Council's website at www.artscouncil.ie. In addition, the Arts-in-Education Charter deals specifically with Arts provision for Children and Young People through arts-in-education. Arts-in-Education practice involves skilled, professional artists of all disciplines working for and with schools in the making, receiving and interpreting of a wide range of arts experiences and this can happen within or outside schools. In January 2013, the then Minister for Education and Skills, Ruairí Quinn, TD, and my predecessor, Mr Jimmy Deenihan, T.D. jointly launched the Arts in Education Charter. This Charter placed new responsibilities on Government Departments, agencies, cultural institutions and arts organisations to provide and promote arts-in- education among children and young people.
A High Level Implementation Group chaired by Professor John Coolahan, Professor Emeritus, NUI Maynooth was set up to oversee the implementation of the Art in Education Charter. Both my Department and the Department of Education and Science is represented on the Group which has made two Reports on its progress with the most recent being in April of this year. The Group has engaged with organisations from both the arts and education sectors. Progress is being made on a number of initiatives, including increasing the number of Artists in Residence in colleges of education and developing a website/portal as a key communications and information channel for both the education and arts sectors. Suitable models for art-rich schools and for artists to become involved in the programme are also being examined by this Group.
