Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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241. To ask the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the position regarding advice available to a student who wants to pursue a qualification in dance; if there is any establishment in the country providing such courses under the student grant scheme; if any assistance is available from any other agency to a student; if grant assistance is available if they attend a course in a private college here or publicly in the UK and the reason do we not assist students wishing to pursue a career in dance; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38518/14]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The Arts Council is the principal agency through which State funding is channelled to the arts. Funding decisions, including bursaries, are a matter for the Arts Council. Under the Arts Act 2003, the Arts Council is a statutorily independent body, funded by my Department and independent in its day-to-day operations, and I have no role to play in relation to its funding decisions.

My Department does not provide student grants for the pursuit of qualifications, as described by the Deputy. Matters relating to student grants and educational establishments fall into the remit of the Higher Education Authority and are ultimately a matter for my colleague, Ms Jan O'Sullivan, TD, Minister for Education and Skills.