Fiona O'Loughlin (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for being here. It is always good to see him.

I raise an issue that I also raised last week. I decided to submit a Commencement matter on it. It relates to a course in the Ballyfermot College of Music, which does excellent work. It has a specific course, a two-year higher national diploma in traditional Irish music performance and traineeship in instrument making, repair and maintenance. It is an excellent course. I understand from one of the tutors, Mr. Niall Crehan, that among last year's graduates are two career harp makers, five career flute makers and two uilleann pipe makers. The harp, as we know, is our national symbol. All we need to do is to look at the seats we in this Chamber are happy to sit on to see our national symbol. Any correspondence that comes from the Government or Departments has a harp on it. As a symbol of Ireland, the harp dates back over 1,000 years. In the past, it has also been a symbol of nationalism. I was fortunate that a near neighbour of mine, Ms Mary Keenan, was a wonderful harpist. Growing up, I had the opportunity to listen to the beautiful instrument that the harp is. We should be doing everything to preserve the harp and the making of it. I got to see one of the samples that Niall Crehan brought to a meeting place. It was an absolutely beautiful piece of art, let alone a beautiful musical instrument.

A total of 23 people applied for the 15 places available on the course to start in September. The sad news, however, is that, as of last Friday, the course has ceased to exist. It has been cancelled. This is incredibly wrong. The uilleann pipes and Irish harp are recognised by UNESCO as our indigenous instruments. I honestly believe that a stay should be put on the cancellation of the course at least until an evaluation is carried out. I appreciate that the Minister of State is stepping in for the Minister, Deputy Lawless, under whose remit this falls. He contacted me to give his apologies; he had other important commitments this morning. He wanted to be here to respond to the matter and he shares my concerns.

The bottom line is that we need to do everything we can to preserve our culture. I understand that the amount of money involved is not very significant. We should be doing everything to preserve our traditions and culture, including our wonderful musical tradition. From last year's class, we already have the possibility of ten instrument makers. It is as much about preserving a craft and tradition as it is about the instruments themselves.