Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

369. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the specific heritage education initiatives funded by her Department in 2019 referred to in the Public Service Performance Report 2019; the amount provided to each initiative in funding; and the number of children engaged by each initiative. [21919/20]

Catherine Martin (Dublin Rathdown, Green Party)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

This refers to the Heritage Council's Heritage in Schools programme. The Heritage in Schools Scheme provides a panel of Heritage Specialists who visit primary schools throughout the country.The aim of the Scheme is to encourage awareness of the genius of the natural and cultural world that surrounds us in our daily lives and engage children in a direct experience of their heritage, preferably outside the classroom. The Scheme supports the aims and objectives of the Social, Scientific and Environmental Education (SSEE) curriculum and provides an additional educational tool and resource for teachers. The scheme is part-funded by the school and the Heritage Council.

The Heritage Council is funded by my Department and in 2019, I allocated funding of €6.588m as part of the annual Estimates process. The funding then allocated by the Heritage Council to the Heritage in Schools programme and the numbers of schools and children engaged are set out below

More detailed information on this Programme and the Heritage Council’s other activities is available on its website www.heritagecouncil.ie or by contacting the Council directly.