Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Thursday, 16 July 2015

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement

Integrated Education in Northern Ireland: Discussion

10:15 am

Photo of Frank FeighanFrank Feighan (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Mr. Paul Caskey, Ms Tina Merron and Mr. Nigel Frith for their contributions. We would be delighted to accept Mr. Paul Caskey's invitation to visit an integrated school. Our secretariat will work closely with him on that. We go on many outreach visits to Northern Ireland. My colleague, Deputy Joanna Tuffy, when she was Chairman of this committee, pioneered many of those visits, which were very worthy and interesting, and they have given us an in-depth knowledge of what is happening. I thank Mr. Caskey for the invitation and we will be delighted to accept it. We will fit that trip in.

I have one or two questions before I bring in the members of the committee. Ms Tina Merron said that the first maintained Catholic school recently applied for and was refused approval to transform by the Department of Education. Why did that happen? Second, regarding an independent commission to reform the education system in Northern Ireland, could our guests expand on who they consider should be members of such a commission? Why do they consider it has not been progressed? Is there any way this joint committee could be of assistance to them?

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