MINISTER FOR Arts, Sport and Tourism Martin Cullen is to consider a report from a Trinity College Dublin (TCD) forum on acting training which recommends the establishment of an independent academy of theatre arts.
However, a spokeswoman said it was not possible to say whether the Minister supported the recommendations in the report.
The forum was set up last year in the wake of Trinity College's controversial decision to axe its undergraduate degree in acting studies.
In its report, published yesterday, the forum also advocates the "immediate provision of adequate resources" to allow the re-establishment of this course, or an equivalent, at the university.
But it says this should be an interim measure while the longer- term goal of the establishment of a new academy is pursued.
According to the report, Mr Cullen's department should set up a working group to investigate the establishment of an Irish Academy of Theatre Arts located in its own "flagship building".
Capital funding from both the public and private sectors should be sought, with private sector support "spearheaded by leading Irish figures in international theatre and cinema".
Once established, its running costs should be met through public-private partnership. Estimates as to the cost of establishing such an academy were not available yesterday.
A spokeswoman for the Minister said he had not yet seen the report but that his officials would be examining it and making recommendations for him to consider.
The report also highlights what it says is a significant discrepancy in the amount of State funding provided to acting students in Ireland compared to their UK and international counterparts.
It says Trinity was "forced to discontinue its long underfunded bachelor in acting studies degree" in January 2007.
It adds that the new academy should be fully independent and not-for-profit, but should have its degree and diploma programmes validated by a university.
However, it has emerged that the private Gaiety School of Acting, which plans to offer a three-year full-time undergraduate degree in acting, is to rebrand itself as the National Theatre School of Ireland in the coming months. This follows a decision of its board which it says was taken three months ago.
It hopes to have its new course, to be accredited by Dublin City University and which will be free to qualifying students through the CAO system, up and running by 2009, with an intake of 16 students. Discussions with the Higher Education Authority on funding this course are ongoing.
The Gaiety school's director, Patrick Sutton, said he welcomed the publication of the forum report but said it was an "absolute mystery to me" why his school had not been asked to participate.
"I think that if the powers that be in Trinity regarded training actors as something at the heart of the university, they wouldn't have dropped the course," he said.
He acknowledged that any national academy would be a direct competitor to his own new national theatre school, but said he welcomed this. "I don't think the academy is necessary," he said. "I would argue very strongly and very forcefully that everything that is being suggested in the forum's recommendations are the things we will be doing."
TCD provost Dr John Hegarty said he had established a college taskforce to investigate the possibility of delivering a new Rada-style course. "The implementation of a programme in acting training would hinge critically . . . on the Government's ability to fund such an academy and world-class independent acting course in partnership with the private sector," he said.
TCD Acting Forum: the cast
Tania Banotti CEO, Theatre Forum Ireland
Anne Clarke producer, Landmark Productions
Michael Colgan director, Gate Theatre
Nicholas Grene director of Teaching and Learning
(postgraduate), school of English, TCD (chair)
Garry Hynes artistic director, Druid Theatre
Nesta Jones director of research and MA in theatre practices
programme at Rose Bruford College, London (external adviser)
Mark Lambert actor and director
Fiach Mac Conghail artistic director, Abbey Theatre
Martin Murphy director, Pavilion Theatre, Dún Laoghaire
Lynne Parker artistic director, Rough Magic
Enid Reid Whyte, theatre consultant, Arts Council
Fiona Shaw actor
Brian Singleton, head of drama, TCD