Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank Ms Marshall. None of these was a new school. There was growth in many areas and we can take for an example the developing areas of Dublin, including its commuter belt, where there have been new schools for new areas of population. Where different areas have developed throughout Northern Ireland, have integrated schools been established that were not transformed from a previous existence? At secondary level here, plebiscites are held among parents about the type of second level schools they wish to have, including community, education and training board, ETB, or voluntary secondary. If a new second level school is deemed necessary in an area, who has the opportunity to contribute to the decision-making on what type of school it should be?

I gather from meeting different groups in Northern Ireland that often in higher socioeconomic strata - to use a terrible phrase, the more affluent areas - there was a bigger presence of integrated education than in places where people were on lower incomes. That was suggested to me but is there a good spread throughout the socioeconomic strata? I know it is not a measurement we all like but it is there.

Where there is no Minister in Stormont driving a programme, are those few years lost when momentum could have been gained in driving integrated education? We all know the budget is under a particular control. The departments are administered by civil servants so are they in a position to make decisions if a school applies to change its status to being an integrated school? Do they have the authority in current administrative arrangements to make such decisions? There were worthy proposals for a major campus in Omagh and I presume that campus included plans for integrated schools at primary and secondary level. My understanding is the project has not proceeded at anything like the pace we would like to see.