Malcolm Byrne (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The Senator has just as big a stage. I have a couple of formal proposals to suggest to the clerk to the committee. The first is that we write to the Arts Council to recommend, as a committee, that we recognise musical theatre as an art form in the same way as theatre, dance and opera. We could specifically ask the council to do that and to outline its strategy to promote and develop musical theatre in Ireland.

Mr. Foley and Mr. Donnelly mentioned the new and exciting subject at second level relating to film, drama and theatre studies. We should write to the Minister for Education and the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment to seek to have musical theatre incorporated as part of that subject. As Senator Cassells suggested, I recommend that we write to the Minister based on the discussions today about the report. We should ask the Minister to consider this and we should continue to follow up on these issues.