Rose Conway-Walsh (Mayo, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I appreciate that and I thank Dr. Patterson for that. Once the pathway has been set out it would be useful to share it with the committee so that we can all work together to tackle some of these things and have a plan together so we can measure that in a way that will address the issues we want to address. No matter how many statistics are put on the table, the numbers have been static since the introduction of the Good Friday Agreement and that reflects on us all.

Ms Cousins mentioned the key issue of the system of admission, which can and should be addressed immediately if we want greater levels of cross-Border enrolment. Some very easy steps could be taken to align with when results are announced and that would have a tangible impact. That is coming through repeatedly in our engagement on the matter. What does she believe the CAO can do to properly account for the differences in the two education systems when aligning the grades? What should we be doing to ensure the necessary reform is done to increase the number of students North and South? Is there scope for higher education institutions, HEIs, in the South to offer courses through UCAS and HEIs in the North to offer places through CAO?