Rev. Trevor Gribben:

The report in 2011 which is seminal has not, sadly, been delivered on the ground. One of the factors that leads to what can almost be described as depression in certain loyalist-Protestant working class communities in Belfast is that they do not see a difference. They do not see the so-called peace dividend affecting them. The reality is that it has affected all of the community and working class communities have benefited but on the ground they do not see this. Because I work in education I am illustrating from that point of view. For instance, some of the big ideological disputes ongoing in education over academic selection, a common funding formula and a definition of shared education are at a level where accommodations and agreements are not being made between politicians that can be delivered on the ground. Politicians have every right to have their party political viewpoints, but the art of politics involves accommodation, compromise and bringing solutions that work on the ground. There are too many pieces of legislation blocked in ongoing debates in the Executive by whoever it might be. Where co-ordinated intervention between Departments is needed on behalf of ordinary communities in the inner city, it is not happening. While politicians will debate and discuss accommodations, compromises are not arrived at quickly enough to actually make an impact. There is a generation of young people, 15 years on from the Good Friday Agreement, who had hope held out to them, but it is not being delivered on in reality. I could tell the committee in great detail about some of the things that need to happen in education, but I will not go any further.

I wish to touch very briefly on the issue of shared education. The concept of shared education is being developed in the North and all of the churches are very supportive. I am sure committee members have followed the debate. It is different from integrated education which takes place in one school in which people from two communities are educated together in a proportion of 60:40 proportion either way. The concept of shared education recognises the reality that most people in the North are educated either in schools that are predominantly populated by Protestant or Catholic children. It helps those schools begin to journey together. I illustrate two small rural primary schools in a small village which has been scarred by the Troubles where every Friday all classes are taught as if they are in one school and children mix naturally in the classroom. One might say, "So what? That is not a big step forward." For that community, it is massive. That new concept has a big part to play in Belfast. Why? The answer is because people still tend to live in single identity communities. By definition, the local primary school is predominantly Protestant because all of the houses around it are lived in by people who are predominantly Protestant or Catholic. How can we move forward in developing the concept of shared education? Again, I have to say it has not been rolled out quickly enough. Shared education projects in Northern Ireland are funded by the American Ireland Fund and American philanthropies. They are not mainstream and not funded from the budged for the Northern Ireland Executive. Developing the idea of sitting together in a classroom with people from the other side and seeing their humanity will be a big factor in stopping the behaviour that results in throwing stones at the other side. These initiatives need to be rolled out. Education is the key, although it is not the magic solution to everything. Schools are not to blame for where we are in Northern Ireland, but schools and good policy can be part of delivering for the future.