Bríd Smith (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance)
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183. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills further to Parliamentary Question No. 132 of 1 May 2018, if his Department sanctioned a fee increase aimed solely at adult and mature music students. [21991/18]

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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The decision to increase fees in such cases as that referred to by the Deputy is an operational matter for which the City of Dublin Education and Training Board (CDETB) has responsibility. In view of this I have forwarded your query to the CDETB for direct reply to you.

In 2014, my Department established the ‘Committee for Non-Mainstream Department of Education and Skills funded Music Education’. The Committee was established to, inter alia, oversee the work of organisations in receipt of funding from my Department in relation to non-mainstream music education.

In its engagement with organisations, including CDETB, the Committee has suggested that the emphasis of Department-funded tuition should be on young individuals up to eighteen years, and also suggested that the Centre should focus on group-based tuition in order to allow more students overall to benefit from the service.