FF members demand €200 arts vouchers for children

FIANNA FÁIL TDs and senators are calling on the Government to provide all school children with a €200 voucher for arts and music classes.

Members of the party who sit on the Oireachtas Tourism, Culture and Arts Committee made the push yesterday to develop a scheme for children aged between four and 18 to use the voucher on art, music, dance or drama classes.

The voucher programme would cost the Government €185million if it were made available to all primary and secondary school children.

Fianna Fáil senator Malcolm Byrne said the initiative should be introduced to recognise what children went through during the Covid-19 pandemic and to kickstart the arts sector post-lockdown.

‘We fully believe in the idea that every young person should have access to artistic and cultural activity as part of the formal education system, but also through extracurricular activities,’ Mr Byrne told reporters at Leinster House.

He confirmed that the scheme had been raised with Arts Minister Catherine Martin ahead of next month’s Budget. ‘This is something that we believe falls between arts and education,’ he said.

Cork South-West TD Christopher O’Sullivan said Irish children should be encouraged to get involved in music and arts as they are ‘an important part of our culture’.

‘We firmly believe there should be an arts offering in every single secondary school and primary school,’ the Fianna Fáil deputy added.

The group also called for the €50million increase in funding allocated to the Arts Council last year to be maintained in the Budget.