Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The programme for a partnership Government commits to the implementation of the arts in education charter. This is a partnership between my Department, the Department of Education and Skills and the Arts Council.

Under the Arts Act 2003, primary responsibility for the promotion of the arts at all levels throughout the country is devolved to the Arts Council, which is the main channel of State current expenditure on the arts. The council's ten year strategy, Making Great Art Work, places specific emphasis on the need to plan and provide for children and young people. The strategy also commits to working to achieve full implementation of thearts in education charter. The council also contributes funding to a number of organisations to assist in the delivery of arts in education projects in schools.

I welcome this joint landmark Arts Council and ESRI study and its findings that Irish children who participate in artistic and cultural activities cope better with schoolwork and have more positive attitudes towards school later on than those who are less engaged. Of particular interest is the identified difference in participation rates across communities and the fact that families of young children with disabilities are highly engaged in cultural activities. As Minister, I am firmly committed to continuing the work of the ongoing partnership between the Department of Education and Skills, my Department and the Arts Council, in line with the arts in education charter.

I am pleased, therefore, that in the 2017 budget I have secured an additional €5 million for the Arts Council, an 8% increase in its annual budget. This additional funding will allow the council to continue to enhance support to artists and arts organisations around the country on both a small and large scale, including its very valuable work in progressing arts in education initiatives and ongoing research, as referred to by the Deputy.

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