Liz McManus (Wicklow, Labour)
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Question 584: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the cross border programmes, initiatives, areas of cooperation and so on which his Department is engaging in or about to engage in with its counterparts in Northern Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7615/10]

Batt O'Keeffe (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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My Department seeks to develop cooperation and common action in education on an all-island basis in the context of the Good Friday Agreement principally through the North South Ministerial Council (NSMC). Through the NSMC framework my Department cooperates with the Department of Education in Northern Ireland (DENI) to develop common policies and approaches in areas such as of special education needs, educational underachievement, teacher qualifications and mobility and school, youth and teacher exchanges.

The Middletown (Co. Armagh) Centre for Autism project is a jointly funded initiative between DENI and my Department aimed at supporting the promotion of excellence in the development and harmonisation of education and allied services to children and young people with autistic spectrum disorders across the island. A strong cooperative relationship has been established between the Middletown Centre Training Unit and the Special Education Support Service (SESS) in the South. The Middletown Centre is also in discussion with a number of universities and colleges in relation to areas of collaboration.

My Department also cooperates with DENI to develop and support and manage joint funding for a range of programmes and joint initiatives designed to increase mutual understanding and promote closer co-operation. A number of these extend beyond the island of Ireland, involving co-operation with education authorities in Britain, the United States, the European Union and other countries and institutions with a view to maximising the positive contribution they can make to North/South co-operation. A table showing the projects and initiatives supported by my Department in 2009 follows. Further details in relation to these initiatives are also available on my Department's website – www.education.ie

My Department and DENI have also recently commenced a joint study on North South Cooperation in Education. This study will cover current cooperation in the education sector between our two Departments, the potential for further collaboration and a recommended programme of action.

The Department of Employment and Learning (DEL) in Northern Ireland has responsibility, inter alia, for further education and training and higher education in the North. My Department cooperates with that Department at official level on issues of mutual interest such as conferences on higher education issues. Moreover, there is a considerable degree of cooperation between individual colleges North and South. This includes an initiative under a Strategic Innovation Funded project between Letterkenny IT and the University of Ulster which is examining the potential for delivery of additional higher education capacity in the North West.

Table: Department of Education and Science North South Funded Projects 2009

* =Department of Education and Science

** =Department of Education, Northern Ireland

*** = Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister