Neale Richmond (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. I am responding on behalf of his party colleague and my constituency colleague, the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, Deputy Catherine Martin. I was very touched by the Deputy's contribution and I am very well aware that this is a personal passion of his as well as something he is bringing forward on behalf of his constituents. The Deputy notes the local authorities and counties that came together in order to commission this report together with Creative Ireland Waterford and facilitated by Waterford Youth Arts. It was also funded under the Arts Council's collaboration scheme.

The Deputy knows better than anybody else that Waterford Youth Arts has a long track record in this area. This report is an interesting example of a multidisciplinary youth arts hub or resource in their local area. A particular highlight in recent years has been The Lit, a youth-led literature festival which has been funded via Waterford Youth Arts annual programme of activities. The Deputy's expression and his emphasis on the importance of creative writing and being able to give people the space to develop that are well made. I also understand that this organisation has made incredible efforts to structure its youth arts programme and to support its young members.

This report by John O'Brien is very timely indeed. The research report studies youth arts policy at a national level and it builds on previous work commissioned by Youth Arts Now regarding youth arts. It is interesting to see the mapping of funding going into youth arts and to note the obstacles faced by these youth organisations. The report contains a number of interesting case studies and, most importantly, makes a number of recommendations which will no doubt contribute to the debate about the future of youth arts in Ireland.

Under the Arts Act 2003, the Arts Council has primary responsibility for the development of the arts in Ireland. The council works under its ten-year strategy to address its statutory remit through a policy-driven focus on investment, advice, advocacy and partnership including investment in the traditional arts. The Arts Council offers a wide range of financial supports including for young people, children and education. The Deputy will be interested to note that with the Government's recent support to extend the Creative Ireland programme for the period 2023 to 2027, the Minister will be bringing a new Creative Youth plan to Government for agreement. This will be along with her Cabinet colleagues, the Ministers, Deputies Foley, O'Gorman and Harris. Like its predecessor, the plan will operate across formal education and training settings and the wider community, and will provide further support for professional development.

The first Creative Youth plan provided a collaborative framework to enable the creative potential of children and young people. Since 2017, over 2,000 schools and Youthreach centres have had the opportunity to enrich their school's creativity through programmes such as Creative Schools and Creative Clusters. Educators such as the Deputy have been supported to embed creativity into their professional teaching practice. Access to programmes such as creative writing, youth drama and creative technology has expanded in communities. Local Creative Youth partnerships have been established in six education and training boards, prioritising provision for seldom heard children and young people in their locality.

Under the Creative Communities initiative, I understand that the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, together with the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, provides funding to each of the 31 local authorities to support culture and creativity teams to implement their individual culture and creativity strategies. These teams also deliver Cruinniú na nÓg, the flagship national day of free creative activities for children and young people. To date, over 2,800 events have taken place in partnership with all 31 local authorities. For example, 20 events were held across Waterford last year. The next Cruinniú na nÓg is scheduled to be held on 10 June this year where many more children will get to participate in this national day of free creative activity for young people. I underline the importance of letting children expand their own creative horizons. I fundamentally believe that should be the main focus of this and I know my belief is shared by Government colleagues. The end goal is to get as many people involved and doing what they love in a space that they find is comfortable for them to truly express themselves.

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