Ms Jo Mangan:

I will deal with second and third level education. With regard to second level in particular, the National Campaign for the Arts has advocated for the junior cycle review to include dance and drama along with music. It is an interesting question. These have traditionally been exam subjects in the UK. Things are changing there because of how they have altered their third level education system, so it makes it much less attractive for people to study any arts subject. It might seem like a big reach to do dance or drama in school but we can think about the inherent benefits to young people, including self-expression and mental and physical health. As a person who used to hide from the physical education class in secondary school, if there was a drama class I might have gone to it, although not until fifth or sixth year, when I would have worked up enough confidence to do so. There must be places for people to grow. As the Senator indicated, we cannot just be streaming people towards knowing exactly what they want to do when they are 17. We cannot just churn out drones for industries that may or may not be here in the morning. I do not know what is going on in the main Chamber.