Fintan Warfield (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses for their presentations. My background is in music. I learned classical music from the age of six in the Royal Academy of Music. I was guided out of classical tuition and encouraged to pursue traditional music because when I reached grade five with the Royal Academy, I was literally not good enough so I was not able to progress through the grades on that front. I take the point Dr. Orla McDonagh made on musical literacy. I ended up touring with an element of the Wolfe Tones for seven years. I was two years full-time in the States. Our folk song tradition is really important to me and it amplifies the voices of our people and our city. It is all recalled and retold in the oral lore. I wonder if musical literacy is a challenge in any way to that tradition.

On the question of the qualification requirements for teaching music, who would make those regulations? Would it be the Department of Education and Skills? Do the witnesses know where the regulations on the qualification to teach music would come from in order that it would be incorporated into the legislation? Mr. Ó Murchú might like to cover any implication that would have. He mentioned the 800 teachers in Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann who have a diploma. What are the implications that any regulatory requirement down the line could have on that?

I am glad that Mr. Gerard Keenan mentioned the Creative Ireland initiative. It was a welcome proposal that represented a very obvious change in language from all Departments, which is what we would all welcome, but for some time I have felt it has been a programme of spin, that it is repackaged and rebranded existing initiatives. We found out that Creative Ireland spent 30% of €5 million on advertisements and promotions. We have concerns about the arms length policy, but I certainly support the five pillars. One could not argue with the five pillars of the programme, but I wonder about 2022. As the Sinn Féin spokesperson on the arts, I have never attempted to prioritise one art form over another, but music transcends all our art forms, as Senator O'Donnell said in her reference to the playwright, Tom Murphy.

IMRO has proposed a music strategy. I wonder whether that is what is required to deal with education, infrastructure, recordings, our orchestras and copyright and whether people would support a music strategy.

I understand that the funding of Music Generation by U2 is being phased out. Will the representatives clarify that? Are the witnesses satisfied that the future of the programme is safe and that the Government is on side with it?