Catherine Martin (Dublin Rathdown, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

There are two major areas of work taking place under the remit of my Department in regard to arts in the context of the child, through the Arts Council and the Creative Ireland Programme. Children and young people participate in the arts in early learning and care settings, schools, and other education and youth work settings. These opportunities may be offered in partnership with independent and community providers. Other activities are offered outside mainstream education or youth work settings and are led by artists, specialist teachers and facilitators working in a range of organisations and community settings.

The Arts Council recognises the value of arts and cultural participation among children and young people and acknowledges their fundamental right to participate in the arts. The council supports and promotes children's and young people’s engagement with the arts from birth to early adulthood. The Arts Council considers opportunities for children to learn and develop artistic skills, and to experience the arts, as being essential to realising their rights as set out in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Through the Creative Ireland programme, my Department continues to support community-based measures to increase and expand the opportunities for children and young people to access arts and culture-based creative activities. As part of the ongoing implementation of the Creative Youth plan, a number of measures and initiatives have been developed and delivered which have enabled increased access to a wide range of creative activities, including the arts. Key in this regard has been the establishment of Cruinniú na nÓg, the annual day of free creative activities for children and young people under 18 years of age. Cruinniú na nÓg is funded by my Department and delivered by all 31 local authorities. On Saturday, 12 June last, my Department’s support enabled more than 630 events and activities to take place throughout the country. As society begins to reopen, it is important to ensure children and young people continue to have opportunities to take part in and access a range of art activities through which they can express and enjoy themselves and develop their skills. For this reason, I will continue the important work of Creative Ireland in relation to the Creative Youth plan, and I look forward to continuing engagement with the Arts Council in its strategies to ensure ongoing engagement by children with the arts.

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