Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)

I listened to the Senator's eloquent and moving appeal with great interest. I have also entertained many such representations and I share the Senator's concern that musical knowledge as a dimension of our human existence should be diffused as much as possible through the community, irrespective of class origins or ability in performance. I am making this reply on behalf of the Minister for Education and Science, Deputy Noel Dempsey, who wishes to clarify his position in relation to the issue raised by the Senator.

The Dublin Institute of Technology is a statutory body established under the Dublin Institute of Technology Act 1992. The principal function of the institute under the 1992 Act is to provide vocational and technical education and training for the economic, technological, scientific, commercial, industrial, social and cultural development of the State. Under the Act, the governing body is required to submit annually an operational programme and budget through the City of Dublin VEC to the Department for approval by the Minister. An annual budget for the institute is allocated on the basis of pay and non-pay requirements following consideration of the programmes and budget submission and having regard to the available funding and to the Government's commitments and priorities.

The implementation of the programmes and budget and the management of resources of the institute are matters for which the governing body and management of the institute are responsible. This includes decisions regarding the operation and management of the Dublin Institute of Technology Conservatory of Music and Drama. As is the case with all of the institutes of technology, the final decisions regarding programmes to be provided are matters for the management authorities of individual institutes, within the context of the available funding. The Department of Education and Science's recurrent allocation to the Dublin Institute of Technology for 2003 is €106.7 million. This includes the grant from the Department in respect of free fees.