Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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404. To ask the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht her plans in place to ensure the better integration of the arts into education and broadening the focus on science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) into science, technology, engineering, arts and maths (STEAM); and if she will expand the ambition and resourcing of the Arts and Education Charter and continue to work with the Department of Education and Skills to further enhance the position of arts subjects within the curriculum at primary and secondary level. [11696/17]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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While the content of the school curriculum is primarily a matter for the Department of Education and Skills, I am firmly committed to continuing the work of the ongoing partnership between that Department, my own Department and the Arts Council, in line with the Arts in Education Charter.In this regard, I am pleased that the Programme for a Partnership Governmentcommits to the continued implementation of the Arts in Education Charterand my Department is working closely with the Department of Education and Skills and the Arts Council to deliver the objectives of the Charter.

The work of the two Departments and the Arts Council in implementing the Charter is achieved largely through existing structures such as education centres. Good progress has been made to date in terms of launching Ireland’s first Arts in Education Portal, holding National Arts and Education Days and developing Teacher Artist Partnerships through the Education and Training Centres.

In addition, the Creative IrelandProgramme is the Government’s Legacy Programme for Ireland 2016 and the main implementation vehicle for the priorities identified in Culture 2025/Éíre Ildánach the draft framework policy which I published in July this year. It is a five-year initiative, from 2017 to 2022, which places creativity at the centre of public policy. It is built around five pillars the first of which is the Enabling the Creative Potential of Every Child. Arising out of this my Department will be working with the Department of Education and Skills, the Department of Children and Youth Affairs, the Arts Council and other stakeholders over the coming months to develop a plan so that by 2022 every child in Ireland will have access to tuition in music, drama, art and coding.