Professor Seamus McGuinness:

The Deputy asked what the reality is. The reality in the Republic of Ireland is that 40% of young people will match their parents' education, 40% will exceed their parents' education and 20% will fall below it. These figures are similar for Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland but the proportion that do better than their parents is much higher in the Republic of Ireland relative to Northern Ireland. This is the opposite of what we would expect because educational standards among older cohorts are lower in Northern Ireland. We would expect a higher proportion of young people in Northern Ireland to do better than their parents. The fact that it is lower in Northern Ireland relative to the Republic of Ireland is particularly worrying.

We did an in-depth study where we spoke to many people. We ran that data and we also ran workshops and we held interviews. It is not randomly distributed. Those young people doing less well are predominantly from lower-income families, particularly in Northern Ireland. A major constraint and a major factor in this is the continued use of academic selection in Northern Ireland. It is now particularly problematic. It excludes children from low-income families because many schools in Northern Ireland do not prepare for the transfer test that gives access to the top 30% of the best schools. To participate in it parents typically have to pay for private tuition at £20 or £30 an hour. This excludes children from low-income families. The continued use of academic selection in Northern Ireland, which filters out children from low-income families from realistically being able to participate or compete for places in those better schools, is a problematic factor, which explains why the educational system in Northern Ireland is not a good vehicle for intergenerational progression in terms of education or earnings. It is a real problem.