Niamh Smyth (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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58. To ask the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the steps she has taken to develop arts in education practices by professional artists in schools; if she has conducted an analysis of the value of arts education; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [27896/17]

Niamh Smyth (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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What steps have been taken to develop arts in education practices by professional artists in schools? Has analysis been carried out of the value of arts education? Will the Minister make a statement on the matter?

Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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The Creative Ireland programme which the Taoiseach and the Minister launched in December places a special focus on enabling the creative potential of every child. Building on the Arts in Education Charter, this will involve the development of an integrated plan, creative children, to enable every child in Ireland access tuition in music, drama, art and coding by 2022. Departmental officials continue to work with other Departments and stakeholders to develop this plan, with a launch timeframe of Autumn 2017.

I am pleased to say continuing professional development through teacher-artist partnerships is ongoing, and this July will see a significant increase in the number of courses taking place across 21 education centres throughout the country. In addition, the Arts Council-commissioned report, Arts and Cultural Participation among Children and Young People: Insights from the Growing Up in Ireland Study, which was published in September 2016, concluded that arts and cultural participation leads to a range of positive outcomes for children, both in terms of their cognitive development and their well-being. This study found that schools are important arenas for access to arts and culture, and school emphasis on culture has a positive impact on student engagement in these activities.

The creative children plan will build on work to date in implementing the Arts in Education Charter to include the delivery of arts-rich schools, making the arts a key part of school life across the country. The Department continues to work closely with the Department of Education and Skills, the Department of Youth and Children Affairs and the Arts Council to deliver the key objectives of the charter in the wider context flow of the Creative Ireland programme, to include non-mainstream education.

Arising from the significant increase of support of €5 million which was secured for the Arts Council as part of Budget 2017, the Minister is pleased that the Arts Council increased funding in this area for 2017 from €3.1 million in 2016 to €3.7 million this year. The Minister will also provide an additional €70,000 to the Arts Council to assist in the expansion of the teacher artist partnership this year. This funding is being provided under the Creative Ireland programme.

These initiatives demonstrate the overall commitment of the Government to deliver for children as we work in finalising the creative children plan.

Niamh Smyth (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister. I know he has been thrown in at the deep end

Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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It was the first time I had read it.

Niamh Smyth (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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The Creative Ireland plan was launched with huge fanfare throughout the country. A specific and important pillar is to deliver arts in education throughout the country. I have asked the Minister on umpteen occasions to explain explicitly how she will implement arts in education in schools. A chapter is dedicated to lovely talk and language about how we aspire to having arts in education flourish in our schools. I would like to know three tangible actions that will be taken whereby we will see this implemented in our schools.

The Minister spoke about ongoing summer courses for teachers whereby artists come and work with them. This is fantastic, but what we really need are these artists going into schools. It is not enough to expect the teachers in the schools to take this on board. It is wonderful and fantastic, but there is an opportunity and we are not tapping into the skills set of the artists who are hungry to get into schools and deliver proper professional arts in education. I ask the Minister to tell me how it will be implemented.

Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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That is a fair question. There are five pillars in the programme, one of which is that every child in Ireland will have access to the arts by 2022. The Arts Council has increased its funding for Creative Ireland. It is at an early stage. There will be a launch of the arts in education initiative in the autumn and the launch will include details explaining how it will be rolled out. The Deputy asked very fair question. I cannot give her an answer today, but when the initiative is announced in the autumn how it will be rolled out to every child and every school will be explained. It is a good programme for which the Arts Council has provided funding. It is important that every child in every corner of the country going through education has an opportunity, because all children have something artistic in them. They deserve the same opportunity as others, which they might not get. The scheme itself is very good. The details of the scheme will be announced in the autumn and the details on how it will be rolled out will be given.

Niamh Smyth (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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I should have said I congratulate the Minister on his elevation to the Cabinet.

As the Minister is not here herself to answer questions, in the launch that will be held in the autumn, which is some time away, I request, as I have on a number of occasions, the use of the local arts in education partnership, with which the Minister is completely familiar and which was run as a pilot scheme by Cavan Monaghan Education and Training Board. We have been through all of this. We have identified how ETBs are one of the primary delivery or implementation sources throughout the country. There are only 16 of them and they can work with the local authorities. I ask the Minister to deliver the message loud and clear to the Minister, Deputy Heather Humphreys, that I hope as part of the launch in the autumn she will roll out the local arts in education partnerships. They are part of what was written down in black and white a number of years ago in the arts in education charter. This was the aspiration in 2013. It is now 2017 and we have not seen anything tangible. I was involved in the pilot scheme in Cavan and Monaghan. We know it works. It is a no-brainer. Until responsibility to deliver it has been designated to somebody it will not happen. It is all meaningless talk and huff and bluster. I want to see this as part of what the Minister rolls out in the autumn and I ask the Minister to carry the message back to her loud and clear that the local arts in education partnerships are to be delivered. Until the Minister tells me otherwise, I suggest and recommend the ETBs, with the local authorities and local arts in education officers, are best placed to deliver it.

Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Part of the programme will be to bring artists into schools and this is a good idea. I know about the scheme because I have heard the Deputy speak about it in the House and I listen to her. She spoke about the pilot programme in Cavan and Monaghan. Every scheme will be looked at and the best of everything will be taken, including what local authorities have to offer, what the private sector has to offer and what artists themselves have to offer. We hear people speaking about artists and, to be fair to them, some of them find it hard to make a living. It would be great if we gave some of them an opportunity and give them a payment to go to schools and let them show what they have to offer and give children an opportunity to see how real artists work. I will pass on the Deputy's question to the Minister. It is happening. Every scheme is being examined and we are looking at their good parts. When the plan is launched in the autumn it will outline exactly what will happen. With regard to the point raised by the Deputy about artists, it is great. The Government has been looking at many schemes. When I had responsibility for rural development we looked at schemes to see whether we could have a social welfare scheme for artists to give them help and assistance and they would not have to sign on every week. This might be an opportunity to give some artists a bit of work and give them an opportunity to show what they do and give children an opportunity to see real artists at work. It is a great initiative. I will ask the Minister to look at all of the issues raised by the Deputy because she has consistently raised the pilot scheme in Cavan and Monaghan. We will take the best parts of every scheme up and running at present and try to complement them with the scheme we will run in the autumn.

Pat Gallagher (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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I remind Members that the Minister of State, Deputy Joe McHugh, is at a meeting of the Business Committee. He was due to take these questions and the Minister is merely obliging him by being in the hot seat.