Ms Michelle Gildernew:

Sinn Féin has Deputies and Seanadóirí, including Deputy Conway-Walsh and Senator Ó Donnghaile, and MPs representing us at this committee. I thought Deputy Conway-Walsh was in the room. It is easier when somebody is there. She is our spokesperson in the Dáil on higher and further education and is very interested in examining the opportunities we probably have not yet tapped into in terms of accessibility for youngsters to cross the Border and study in one jurisdiction and live in the other. We want to ensure those educational opportunities are available to them.

As Senator Mitchell knows, Brexit means our young people here do not have the same opportunities as they did before to study in Europe through the various Erasmus schemes and so on. Student mobility is a very important piece of work in bringing communities together. This may not be the question we notified to Senator Mitchell and it might be a bit left-field, for which I apologise. As the MP for Fermanagh and South Tyrone, I represent a huge constituency of post-primary children, many of whom could go to a school that is closer to them on the other side of the Border. What are Senator Mitchell's thoughts on the opportunities that are there for cross-Border mobility for students as part of ensuring we maximise the opportunities we have on the island?