Micheál Carrigy (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The witnesses are all very welcome. They will be speaking to the converted in my case as I am a lover of musicals. Any time I am lucky enough to be abroad, in London or wherever, I go to shows. I go to the Bord Gáis Energy Theatre whenever I get a chance. I am blessed to be from Longford. We have a fantastic stage school - the Evolution Stage School run by Paul Hennessy and Tracey Carty.There is also St. Mel's Musical Society. Any show they put on compares to what I have seen in London or New York. They have put in a significant amount of dedication through the past 40 years. The Backstage Theatre is a fantastic venue for putting on and supporting events such as that. We have fantastic talent throughout the country. I was chatting to Senator Malcolm Byrne about this earlier. We were in New York and got tickets to Matilda on Broadway. I saw it in the Backstage Theatre a number of months later and, to be honest, there was a far higher level of excellence in the production from the Evolution Stage School in Longford. There is massive talent in the county.

As regards people on Broadway, I have to give a shout out to Maryann Lynch, whose mother teaches in my local national school. She is a member of the ensemble in a production of The Commitmentswhich will be starting in the UK one of these days. She is one of our homegrown talent from Longford who is now hitting the stage. She will be in Dublin in the new year with The Commitments.

It is about funding and creating opportunities here. What funding comes from the Arts Council for musical theatre at present? I read the opening statement provided by AIMS, which states that three bursaries for third level study are funded. What places or opportunities are there within the third level sector for people to get a qualification? Are there other bursaries or support measures for those who wish to pursue a career at third level here?