Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I share the Deputy's view in this regard. I note the comments made by President Obama in Belfast and it is more than appropriate that he should make them, given his own background and the situation that arose in the southern states of the United States in the 1960s when James Meredith arrived to go to college, or following the decision taken by Rosa Parks not to give up her seat on the bus, which allowed civil rights to be introduced in the United States after the assassination of President Kennedy.

In many ways this was a contributory factor to the election of Mr. Obama as President so many years later. When I saw the speeches in Northern Ireland, I was struck by the candour, confidence and positivity of the young student who introduced the First Lady. In her closing remarks she said, “Northern Ireland is my home. The reality is it has a past. ... It [also] has a future.” She is correct. We have to learn the lessons of the past but focus on what we can do for the future.

The Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy Quinn, is involved intensely with his counterpart in Northern Ireland, with many discussions about education and shared opportunities and potential. I will see to it that the subject of integrated education is raised at the next meeting of the North-South Ministerial Council and will have both Ministers work on a paper dealing with it.

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