Tom Neville (Limerick County, Fine Gael)
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292. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the grants and sources of funding available to schools to apply for funding for musical instruments; and the criteria of each scheme. [12811/19]

Joe McHugh (Donegal, Fine Gael)
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My Department funds the provision of a range of equipment to post-primary schools offering music as a subject. The details of the equipment provided are available on my Department’s website at . Existing schools wishing to offer music as a new subject may apply for grant aid for this equipment to the Devolved Projects Section of my Department’s Planning and Building Unit in Tullamore. The equipment is automatically provided for newly constructed schools where music is part of the curriculum.Schools may enhance this equipment with their capitation grant if they so wish.

Additionally, my Department provides funding to non-mainstream educational initiatives via the Non-Mainstream Music Education Bursary scheme.

The Non-Mainstream Music Education Bursary is a DES funded initiative to provide additional funding. The purpose of the scheme is to provide support by way of a cash grant, to established, smaller-scale, non-mainstream music education/community music initiatives with limited or no access to other forms of public funding. Grants are not intended for use on capital expenditure such as structural/building costs, but can be used for instruments. Award of the bursary is done based on published criteria. The scheme was first established in 2016 and continued in both 2017 and 2018. An announcement will be made shortly regarding the scheme in 2019.

My Department also provides funding to Music Generation which operates in twenty areas of the country currently. Music Generation was formed by a partnership between U2, Music Network, the International Funds for Ireland and the education sector has enabled a series of Music Education Partnerships (MEPs) to be established around the country on a phased basis to provide vocal and instrumental music tuition for young people.

On 7 December 2017, at the launch of the Creative Youth programme, An Taoiseach announced that Phase 3 of Music Generation would proceed in the coming years, funded entirely with exchequer funding. This final phase will see Music Generation reach all areas of the country.

Music Generation currently reaches over 41,000 children and young people annually. This number will increase annually as more MEPs are established and roll out.