Marie Sherlock (Labour)
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I thank the Minister of State for attending. It is with considerable relief and a welcome that society and the economy are reopening significantly today. I am conscious the Government needs to be cautious about easing restrictions, but we still have no guidance as to when music, dance and drama classes can recommence. This is the simple question I wish to raise with the Minister of State. It is not acceptable that we are still waiting for such guidance. I had hoped the Minister for arts and culture could attend the Chamber, but I welcome the Minister of State's presence to answer in her place.As the Minister of State will be aware, dance, drama and in-person music classes have been suspended since the countrywide introduction last October of the level 3 restrictions that were in place in Donegal and Dublin prior to that. Young children, teenagers and young adults have been waiting almost one year for the return of in-person classes. I do not need to tell the Minister of State the seriousness of this situation for the teachers. Music teachers are regularly relaying to me their frustration about the investments they made in perspex last year so that they could safely conduct in-person classes and dance teachers are telling me about the socially distanced placement of ballet bars and other equipment in dance studios and community halls. They are worried because there has been a fall-off in numbers as some children have not been able to access classes via Zoom because of broadband issues and others did not want to, or felt unable to, do that. There is a question as to whether they will return in numbers. More important, this is about the children and young adults.

We have heard so much about the need to look after the mental health of our children, particularly teenagers, during this pandemic. I am struck that we in this country have a very narrow perspective of what education means. All the focus has been on getting children back into the classroom in their primary or secondary schools. There has been no recognition that engagement with the creative arts is also a part of their education and, for many, an essential part of it. We need to have a debate about what constitutes a child's education in this country, in particular post pandemic.

I am asking for clear guidance today. I am reminded of the conversations I have had with the Dublin Youth Theatre and others, in which they told me of the efforts they have made to conduct classes via Zoom. For many others, children have not been able to engage because they have not been able to carve out a safe space in their houses to be able to participate. I know this is a broader issue for the arts sector as a whole and I am conscious that the National Campaign for the Arts has been engaging with the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media with regard to reopening guidance. I do not think it is acceptable that on 10 May, as the economy and society reopen, we do not have guidance on the reopening of a service that is a vital part of the education, development and well-being of children and young adults.

I am looking forward to, hopefully, hearing some positive news from the Minister of State in his response to this matter.

Frank Feighan (Sligo-Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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I thank Senator Sherlock for the opportunity to discuss this matter.

The framework for restrictive measures contained in the Covid-19 plan, Resilience and Recovery: The Path Ahead, sets out information on the staggered start of easing of other areas of restriction, with a focus on outdoor activities, including sport. For guidance purposes, dance has been included under sports under the different levels of the plan. This easing is dependent on whether the transmission of the virus reaches acceptable levels, the vaccination programme progresses as planned and the public health advice allows.

The approach to each phase is subject to ongoing review and will, at all times, take account the evolving epidemiological situation. All decisions taken by the Government on the timing of the lifting of restrictions are informed by the public health advice at the time of the decision. The framework sets out when it is considered that organised indoor or outdoor events can take place. Subject to the prevailing disease situation, from 26 April last, underage, non-contact outdoor training in pods of 15 or fewer, which includes dance, can resume with protocols. In these cases, robust protocols and protective measures, including appropriate supervision and capacity limits, should be in place.

The Arts Council has worked with the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media to develop guidance for children and young people's arts and cultural activities. This guidance was published last week on the Arts Council's website and it will continue to be updated in line with relevant changes to public health measures in the coming months. The guidance was reviewed by the Department's external health and safety advisers to ensure compliance with Resilience and Recovery: The Path Ahead, the stay safe guidelines and the work safely protocol.The guidelines will assist those engaging in arts and cultural activities with children to provide a safe and controlled environment that will mitigate the risk of spreading Covid-19. This guidance is a living document, which means that as Government restrictions and public health guidelines evolve, this document will also evolve to reflect new Government advice and changes to protocol as they emerge.

The Arts Council's guidance on young people, children and education may be used for organised cultural activities for children and young people, including early childhood arts activities, arts training and education services that are delivered outside early learning and care.

The Senator may be aware that Government has decided to move ahead with the Recovery and Resilience: The Path Ahead plan. We are in the early stages of the recovery phases of the pandemic. The decision is based on advice from the National Public Health Emergency Team, NPHET, that a cautious and gradual phased reopening over May and June with an emphasis on outdoor activity and a moderate increase in social contact can be considered low to medium risk. The Senator can find all the details of the roadmap, as well as some of the useful guides, which have been published on the Government website and in newspapers and other media.

The Senator outlined the substantive investment made by music teachers in Perspex and dance teachers measuring out distances and spoke about how some participants may not have been able to participate because of lack of broadband or Zoom etc. I know it is an anxious time for everybody and I hope that in the coming weeks, this anxiety may be eased by lots of young people being able to join those classes, not just online but in person.

Marie Sherlock (Labour)
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I can assure the Minister of State and whoever wrote the script that I do look at the media, including newspapers, on a daily basis. The guidance last week was welcome but it involves the organisation of cultural activities outdoors. The key appeal here concerns enabling children and teenagers to be able to plan and have certainty or some degree of certainty as to when decisions will be made as to when in-person indoor classes and participative activities can take place. To be fair, we did not see that last week. This is all we are looking for.

Everybody is extremely mindful that this has to be a summer where most activity will take place outside. However, as with the reopening of schools, which, of course, has to take place inside, there are other activities that can only happen inside. We cannot take a piano outside. While some drama classes can take place outside, a lot has to take place inside because of sheer physical resources and infrastructure, particularly in Dublin. Last week's announcement was welcome but we still do not have clarity and children and young people deserve clarity as to when in-person classes at a safe distance can take place.

Frank Feighan (Sligo-Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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The Senator articulated her views very clearly. She is right. Children face significant challenges but concerns around well-being arising from the pandemic apply to all of society. We face into the summer when there will be many festivals, including arts festivals. Some of that work will be carried on indoors. We have developed this guidance, which recognises the important work of the arts and culture sector to engage young people in the arts and provide them with opportunities to express and enjoy themselves, develop their skills and broaden their experience. I hope there will be clearer guidance by the stakeholders in the coming days or weeks in order that these young people can express and enjoy themselves in all these wonderful events that will happen in the future and possibly can get back to doing the simple things in life. I pay tribute to the way the Senator articulated those concerns.