Joe O'Reilly (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Chair. I will put questions to be as quick as I can. On Dr. Bergin's presentation on education, we always understood from a historical perspective that it was the availability of work in the shipyards and elsewhere that made the Protestant community in Northern Ireland feel less of a need for education and value education less. Does Dr. Bergin detect a change in her research? Is there a willingness or a shifting of the sands towards more educational participation? Is that trend reversing?

On the cost, it was said that North-South that has accelerated and increased greatly since Brexit. If we get a solution to the protocol in the coming weeks, is it anticipated that trend will be maintained? Is it rooted sufficiently that there would not be a reversal of the more favourable North-South training situation? Will it last? That is an important question. I will leave it at that for now.