Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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Question 244: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the funding resources that are available or can be applied for to help cover the operating costs of music programmes in primary schools, including but not limited to music teachers' fees; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [37177/06]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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My Department does not have a specific funding provision in respect of the operating costs of music programmes in primary schools. However, arts education, which incorporates music, is one of the seven curriculum areas that comprise the primary curriculum, (revised in 1999). Primary Teachers, as a result of their teacher training, are qualified to teach music and other areas of the curriculum and are paid by my Department.

Further support for the provision of music as part of the curriculum is also provided by way of the Primary Curriculum Support Programme (PCSP). This programme provides professional development support to teachers to assist them in implementing the curriculum. The PCSP is engaged in a wide range of support activities, including organising seminars for teachers, visiting schools and providing tailored support for individual schools and clusters of schools. I am however aware that some schools choose to bring in specialist music teachers from outside their school to provide music tuition and may fund this practice by way of voluntary contributions from parents. Voluntary contributions in recognised primary schools are permissible provided it is made absolutely clear to parents that there is no question of compulsion to pay and that, in making a contribution, they are doing so of their own volition. The manner in which such voluntary contributions are sought and collected is a matter for school management, however their collection should be such as not to create a situation where either parents or pupils could reasonably infer that the contributions take on a compulsory character.