Mary Upton (Dublin South Central, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 226: To ask the Minister for Education and Science if he will review a decision to remove funding from a project (details supplied) in Dublin 8; if his attention has been drawn to the level of disadvantage in the area referred to and the importance of the programme to the pupils and their families; the negative outcomes for the pupils if they can not avail of this programme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46226/09]

Seán Haughey (Dublin North Central, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

The project to which the Deputy refers is among a number of Theatre and Arts groups that received funding from my Department over the last ten years or so. This support was drawn from my Department's educational disadvantage budget which is primarily focussed on assisting schools in their efforts to cater for the specific educational needs of children from disadvantaged backgrounds. With the introduction of the DEIS (Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools) programme in 2006, significant additional capitation funding was made and continues to be made available to the 881 schools in DEIS. All of the schools involved with this particular project are included in DEIS which is designed to ensure that schools serving the most disadvantaged communities benefit from the maximum level of support available.

There is a need to focus targeted resources on the schools in most need and this approach is in line with the broad thrust of the recommendations of the Comptroller and Auditor General which are set out in his report on Primary Disadvantage of 2006, which recommended that the Department should focus its educational disadvantage measures on those schools serving the most disadvantaged communities.

In light of the current economic downturn my Department's focus is to retain mainstream resources on core interventions in schools. Support for the Theatre and Arts Groups is not consistent with this focus and such spending can not be regarded as a priority. While it is appreciated that the discontinuation of these resources will impact on the groups, given the extremely challenging economic circumstances, difficult decisions had to be made in order to contain public sector spending.

My Department fully appreciates the importance of arts and culture to children's education and personal development. The arts help to promote a child's self esteem and enjoyment of learning. They also provide an important vehicle for personal enrichment and cultural expression, as well as creating awareness and respect for other cultures. Working through the arts helps to nurture and develop cognitive, communicative, emotional, imaginative, aesthetic, social, and spiritual intelligences and skills. Learning through guided activity and discovery, with children as active agents in their own learning and enrichment, is a vital part of this process. This is why arts education, through Music, Visual Arts, and Drama, and of course, through language, forms an integral part of the primary curriculum. Schools in DEIS are particularly aware of the importance of the arts in addressing disadvantage, and in promoting success in learning. Many schools in DEIS use the flexible budgets they receive to promote integrated links with community arts organisations and to offer enrichment programmes in support of the curriculum.