Mr. Gareth Hetherington:

First, there was a question about the impact of the change in migration patterns. There has obviously been an impact there. It is probably good news for the professional services and ICT sectors in terms of the skills that have come in from the new migrants, particularly from Asia. Yet, the sectors that relied particularly on Eastern European migrants, such as hospitality, agrifood and retail to some extent, are finding it much more challenging. The new migration rules have worked very well for some but have created challenges for others.

I have called for the Northern Ireland Executive to ask for a regional migration policy or to have regional migration powers to be devolved. This would take some time but it could be of great benefit, certainly to some sectors in the local economy.

Regarding integrated education, it is important to realise that while they are Protestant or Catholic schools, many schools in Northern Ireland are quite integrated and very significant proportions of pupils from both communities attend - more than many people outside the system would think. Ultimately, parents want their child to go to a good school in the area. If you are from one community and the best school in the area is from another community, you will send your child to that school. There are a lot of examples of where schools in the maintained or controlled sector are more integrated than schools in the official integrated sector. Ultimately, the policy is how you can make schools from one denomination or cultural background as open as possible to people from other community backgrounds.

Students who live in one jurisdiction and study in another were briefly mentioned. The entry requirements constitute a significant barrier to students from the North studying in the South. For people who go to school in Northern Ireland to achieve the points to enter an Irish university, they need to have studied four A levels. Only very high-performing students in Northern Ireland study four A levels so for the vast majority, even considering going to an Irish university is not for them. There is, therefore, a barrier in terms of the entry points attributed to A levels. It is less clear when it comes to the barriers from South to North but that is something that could be considered to encourage greater cross-Border travel from students from the North who would go to Dublin or Galway to study.