Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)

I take it the Deputy is referring to the report of a feasibility study entitled A National System of Local Music Education Services, prepared by Music Network and published in 2003. Among the recommendations contained in the Music Network report was that a series of music education partnerships would be developed between the county-city development boards and the vocational education committees on a phased basis.

Following the report, my Department has developed a number of exemplar models which will enable approaches to be tested in regard to the strategy outlined in the report. In this regard, my Department is funding a pilot programme in both Dublin city and in Donegal to test the model. The pilot began in 2004. The programme provides for an instrument bank, group and individual tuition, support for ensembles and choirs and covers a range of musical genres, including pop-jazz, traditional and classical. It is operated by the relevant VEC and is overseen by a committee which includes Údarás, county development boards, the education centre and other community interests.

It is important that the effectiveness of these recent pilots is evaluated before any decision is made as to whether to implement such a system on a national basis. My concern would naturally be to ensure that we use our available resources in a way that brings maximum benefit for students. I believe that the arts have an important role to play in the education of the individual. Music, the visual arts and drama provide for sensory, emotional, intellectual and creative enrichment and contribute to the young person's holistic development and self-esteem.

Apart from the pilot local music networks that have been set up, a number of other initiatives have taken place in recent years which show the Government's commitment to improving access to the arts for all our young people. Such initiatives include resource grants given to primary schools to help them implement the arts aspects of the new curriculum, a promotion involving IRMA that saw free tin whistles being made available to all primary teachers last year, the continuing success of the new music curriculum for the leaving certificate, and the provision of teaching hours to a number of schools of music in Laois, Limerick, Cork and Dublin.

The Deputy will of course also be aware of the significant investment that the Government is making in the Cork School of Music. Another very positive initiative was the system of targeted grants given by my colleague, the Minister with responsibility for children, Deputy Brian Lenihan, to disadvantaged schools for the purchase of musical instruments both last year and the year before. The Government believes in the potential of arts experiences to enrich the lives of people, young and old. We have substantially improved support for the arts in recent years.

With regard to the local music network scheme, given that this is a new approach and that the pilots are just two years old, it is important to evaluate the success of these pilots before making any decision as to whether to extend this model on a national basis. This way we can be sure that the best procedures are in place to improve access to the arts for all our young people.

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