Maura Hopkins (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I will be brief. I thank the witnesses for their presentations and the discussion. We have learned a lot. I was in Roscommon County Council on Friday for the presentation of a wonderful sculpture from pupils from a national school in Roscommon. It was fantastic to see the parents, brothers and sisters of the children involved. They all appreciate the importance of the arts. It brought much of the work of the NCCA to life. The term "collaboration" has been used a lot today, but the project was the result of collaboration between Roscommon County Council, Creative Ireland and the teachers and pupils of the school. If we see a lot more of that, we will be doing very well.

I have learned a lot about the primary and post-primary curriculum from the questions which have been asked. I would like to know more about arts in education with regard to lifelong learning. The witnesses spoke about CPD with regard to art teachers and the portals. I have a certain level of experience. We had a pilot Erasmus programme which involved a number of artists in the widest sense of the word, including digital photographers, film-makers, dramatists and so on. I would like to know about the role of the NCCA with regard to the arts in education and lifelong learning beyond primary, post-primary and third level. What is happening? Does Creative Ireland fit into that?

I will not go into the specifics of the pilot project, but a lot of learning could be done. The sort of project to which I refer has a lot of potential. If I am honest, I do not feel it worked fully. What is being done on a continuous basis, outside of art teachers, in terms of society and people who have an interest in or want to continue their professional development without being restricted?