I beg to move

That this Assembly welcomes the progress made in providing equivalence in A-level and Leaving Certificate admissions processes ahead of the 2025-26 academic year; recognises that the previous disparities in admissions created unfair obstacles for students here seeking to access higher education institutions across the island of Ireland; notes the confirmation from Universities Ireland that the Central Applications Office (CAO) process will be amended to provide greater parity, including the allocation of 25 bonus points for A-level students completing maths and the recognition of a fourth AS level in admissions calculations; further welcomes the increased levels of cooperation between UCAS and the CAO on delivering that and urges further cooperation on admission dates and clearing processes; acknowledges the benefit that increased cross-border student mobility brings in ensuring that students have additional options to upskill and find work across the island; commends the ongoing efforts to enhance cross-border student mobility; and calls on the Minister of Education to ensure that students receive clear guidance and support in navigating the revised admissions process.

The Business Committee has agreed to allow up to one hour and 30 minutes for the debate. The proposer of the motion will have 10 minutes to propose and 10 minutes to make a winding-up speech. As an amendment has been selected and is published on the Marshalled List, the Business Committee has agreed that 15 minutes will be added to the total time for the debate.

The Minister for the Economy was due to respond to the debate, but she is now unavailable to do so. Thankfully, we have junior Minister Reilly, who will respond on her behalf.

Pádraig, will you open the debate on the motion?

Go raibh maith agat, a Phríomh-Leas-Cheann Comhairle.

[Translation: Thank you, Principal Deputy Speaker.]

A chairde

[Translation: Friends]

, we ask the House to support a simple but powerful idea: no young person on this island should be held back from accessing education by an artificial barrier, be it financial, bureaucratic or political. Education should open doors; it should not be a postcode lottery. We live on one island. Our communities are connected, and our students are ambitious; yet, for too long, the systems and structures that we have inherited continue to divide and disadvantage our students. It is time that we faced that head-on.

This is the reality: if you are a student in Donegal and want to study in Derry, given the great chances already at the Magee campus and the plans for more to come, you are more likely to face barriers than if you were to apply to study in Galway or Cork. That is not just wrong; it is absurd. The barriers come in many forms: a lack of joined-up information on courses across Ireland; differences in fee structures and funding supports; complexities in the recognition of qualifications; and — let us be honest — decades of underinvestment in and political indifference towards the potential of all-island cooperation and collaboration in education.

Here is the good news: we can change that. The motion calls for a coordinated effort on an all-island basis to harmonise student support; ensure fair access to funding, regardless of which part of the island a student is from; strengthen cross-border pathways in further and higher education; recognise the need for alignment in the Central Applications Office (CAO) and UCAS results dates to ensure that students can choose which option is best for them; and create greater harmony between the two systems. Crucially, we want to create a shared strategy to make all-Ireland student mobility a reality, not just a talking point.

With my colleagues in the Dáil, Mairéad Farrell and Donna McGettigan, I have met dozens of students to discuss the issue, and one common theme prevailed: they want greater choice. While I welcome the progress in the South to reduce the requirement from four A levels to three A levels plus an AS level, that is still restrictive. We have further to go to create real parity across Ireland. I acknowledge the amendment's intent to increase that parity. We have seen great progress on the issue, but, of course, there is further to go. I recognise and welcome the amendment's intent and am happy to support it. From our discussions, we know that many students are not aware that the CAO system is different, nor are they informed and supported by many schools around that. That is why we make our call primarily to the Department of Education. Let us work together to put as many options and opportunities on the table as possible.

Across Ireland, we face many of the same skills gaps, such as those in green and renewable energy technologies, cybersecurity, digital transformation, allied health professions, construction and advanced manufacturing. As members of the Economy Committee, we know those skills gaps, and they are clearly identified in both the skills barometer in the North and the 'National Skills Bulletin' in the South. We are planning for two economies on one island: that is inefficient. It does not make sense. A unified approach to skills planning would mean shared forecasts for our future industry needs and an ability to respond faster to cross-border economic demands regarding, for example, data centres, offshore wind, and biopharmacy. Student mobility is the same as skills mobility. Enabling more North-to-South and South-to-North student movement is a low-cost, high-impact way to address the urgent workforce shortages and boost economic growth in our border regions.

This is about choice and opportunity. It does not impose or compel. It creates additional opportunities for our students and would augment the already fantastic further and higher education systems that we have. Students would have all the data, all the careers support, all the joined-up thinking and all the opportunities to make informed choices. That opportunity needs to be clear in our colleges and schools. It is vital that we all push in the same direction.

I am disappointed that neither the Education Minister nor his colleagues who sit on the Economy Committee are here. I ask him to communicate the changes and opportunities to all schools to ensure that the Careers Service works effectively in providing the information to students and encouraging students to look at all the opportunities that are open to them. Similarly, the Department for the Economy should communicate that information to colleges. I acknowledge the ongoing work of Minister Archibald to engage with her counterparts in the South to discuss and promote all-Ireland student mobility.

Let us build an Ireland of equals, one that is not divided by invisible lines but is united by a common purpose of learning, growing and thriving together. I urge Members to support the motion. Let us tear down barriers and open a future that works for all our students.

I beg to move the following amendment:

Leave out all after "2025-26 academic year" and insert: "recognises that there remain ongoing disparities in admissions that create unfair obstacles for students here seeking to access higher education institutions across the island of Ireland; notes the confirmation from Universities Ireland that the Central Applications Office (CAO) process will be amended to provide greater parity, including the allocation of 25 bonus points for A-level students completing maths and the recognition of a fourth AS Level in admissions calculations; further welcomes the increased levels of cooperation between UCAS and the CAO on delivering that and urges further cooperation on admission dates and clearing processes; acknowledges the benefit that increased cross-border student mobility brings in ensuring that students have additional options to upskill and find work across the island; commends the ongoing efforts to enhance cross-border student mobility; calls on the Minister of Education to ensure that students receive clear guidance and support in navigating the revised admissions process; and calls on the Minister for the Economy to continue to work with her counterparts in the Irish Government to further close the gap in ongoing disparities."

Thank you, David. You will have 10 minutes to propose the amendment and five minutes to make a winding-up speech. All other Members who wish to speak will have five minutes. David, please open the debate on the amendment.

Thank you, Madam Principal Deputy Speaker. Alliance believes in having a shared society, building a united community and providing greater opportunities for everyone. A few weeks back, I talked about sharing the island and working towards solutions for our economy and in health and education and a more prosperous future for everyone that creates opportunities and grows possibilities here. Alliance believes that we should work towards increased student mobility on the island of Ireland. We also have kids who move across to GB. This creates different and greater opportunities for students here, which is welcome. We recognise the critical role that our education establishments play in our economy in diversifying our skills and through educational and student life. We welcome the diversity of opinion. Bringing people here brings strength: it challenges us and further strengthens and unites our community.

In the Economy Committee, I have talked about CAO and the entrance requirements for Northern students for some time. I have lived it: my daughter is studying at Trinity College Dublin, so, as a family, we went through the CAO system. My son went to Loughborough University in England via the UCAS process, so I can compare. In 1998, approximately 10% of students in Trinity were from Northern Ireland. Today, that figure is less than 1%, so there is a massive issue that needs to be resolved. Although I welcome the changes that Pádraig talked through, including the need for a fourth A level being downgraded to an AS level, the issue is far from sorted, which is the reason for our amendment. We are trying to help and work towards solutions that mean that we see students moving North to South. The number of Southern students who apply to study in the North also needs to be noted: it has trebled in the past five years. The number of students from the South who are being accepted in Northern Ireland has trebled, yet the number of students from Northern Ireland who are accepted into universities in the Republic of Ireland remains low.

I want to talk about three key issues. One is grade disparity. The number of points required to achieve entry into the South's universities has meant, up to this point, that Northern Ireland students have had to study an extra A level; now, it will be an AS level instead. However, it is more than that: they need A* grades across the board to gain entry, so there is no grade comparison. The CAO points requirement is unjust on our students. With four A levels at A*, a Northern student would still get only 600 points. They get 25 points if they study maths, but that has always been the case. I will use Trinity as an example, as it is one that I know, although the issue is not exclusive to it.

A Northern student cannot gain entry to a variety of courses there, including pharmacy, medicine, law and politics, as well as a range of science subjects.

The prospective entry requirements to study pharmacy, to take that as an example, at Queen's University are two As and a B. That works out at 443 points under the CAO system. If any Northern students had wanted to study pharmacy at Trinity last year, they would have needed 613 points, which they could not have achieved even with four A* grades. They would therefore have had to have done maths as one of their subjects. That is a discrepancy that has to be addressed.

That imbalance — that unjust requirement — for our students is one of the key issues. Our students study three A levels as a default. When the system is flawed, very few Northern students have any chance of getting a place at Trinity, University College Dublin (UCD), the University of Galway or wherever. The standards do not align. Our system is based on three A levels. Whether that is the best way of doing 16-18 education is a debate for another day, but that is currently what our students study. They take three A levels, and the 600 points should equate to those three A levels so that students here have the ability to get the score to meet the entry requirement to access a place in the South. On a side note, COVID has also increased the differential. Our results have come back down after COVID, but that has not happened in the South.

The other major problem for Northern students is that they are not offered a place in the South. That is something that we lived out as a family. Under the UCAS system, students get offered a place. They get an offer and know with certainty that, if they get the grades, they have got a place, be it at Queen's University, the University of Ulster or anywhere else. Under the CAO system, that does not happen. Students therefore do not know until the day on which the Leaving Cert results come out what place they have been awarded. The Leaving Cert results come out two weeks after our A-level results. If you are a student here, you therefore put at risk your place at university in order to wait to find out, basically via a lottery, whether you are going to gain a place at a university in the South. You either cannot confirm the place that you have or have to defer it.

In our case, my daughter, Emma, deferred her place. She had a place at University College London (UCL), but she wanted to go to Trinity. She therefore took the decision that she was prepared to take a year out if she did not get a place at Trinity. It is absolutely ridiculous for an 18-year-old to have to make the decision to defer part of her life based on the lottery that is getting into a university in the South. It means that the hopes and dreams of our young people are being left to a lottery. Their immediate future is being put on hold. That is not fair. I know that the issue of allowing students from here access is outside the control of our Minister of Education, but it is one that he needs to continue to raise with his counterpart in the South.

Advice from schools is another major issue. Again, I speak from experience, but I have spoken to quite a few people about it, and it is a common issue. The careers advice that we got at school was on applying through UCAS. There was very limited help, if any, for applying through CAO. It was basically left to students themselves to apply. They had to remember the closing date and go on ahead and do it themselves. I remember going to a parents' evening. We were simply told that the closing date for applying through CAO was in February and that we should go online to get the information. An email would have been much more useful, because the link to the CAO application would have been in there, rather than my having to go look for it.

How to apply through CAO is therefore not explained or supported by schools here, meaning that students have to complete the application process on their own. The implications of that are that students do not know that they get 25 extra points for maths. If they do not know that and do not pick that subject when they are 16, how can they ever get those extra 25 points? Moreover, they need a language at GCSE. I know that most students study a language at GCSE but, if they do not, they are ruling themselves out from studying any course at university in the South. We therefore need to advise our students and make sure that that advice is in front of them when they are making career decisions.

We talk a lot in the Economy Committee about careers advice and decisions. When those decisions are happening in your life, you need to know at that point that you are not limiting yourself. That advice needs to come through from the Department of Education to schools so that schools are not solely emphasising UCAS but are offering and addressing CAO options, leaving those open for everyone.

I will leave it there. Those are the three key issues for us, and we have laid them out in our amendment. We need the Minister to continue to work to make this a fair, equality issue for our students. We need the Department of Education to highlight the issues that are there, so that all schools provide our kids with all the opportunities in order that we can build a better, shared society for all. Thank you, Madam Principal Deputy Speaker.

No bother, David; thank you very much. I call David Brooks.

Thank you, Madam Principal Deputy Speaker. I will probably speak along similar lines. There is some commonality, although I would dissent from some of the more ideological comments that were made by my colleague on the opposite Benches around the all-island elements in terms of the economy and so on, but we will not get into that now. We all recognise that making decisions to apply for a higher education course can be a stressful time for many young people across Northern Ireland. It comes with much uncertainty, and there are big choices to be made.

Will the Member give way?

Yes.

Does the Member not agree that, given the points that we raised about all-Ireland opportunities, what we are flagging is that the skills gaps in the North are the same as those in the South? There is nothing ideological about noting that there are economic gaps.

David, you have an extra minute.

Thank you; I do not plan to use it. This party believes that it is sensible to have cross-border cooperation. We are not against that; we have seen it in health and other areas. I was not looking to get into a back and forward. From your party's point of view, there is a plan to project the idea of moving in a particular direction and to plan for a joining together of two jurisdictions. Nobody on these Benches is planning for that.

We are trying to get healthcare workers. That is what we are saying.

Well, look —.

Excuse me; through the Chair, please.

I was just outlining a point of difference. I do not plan to get into that particular debate. I am going to address the issue, but I was outlining how we come from a different angle in that regard.

There is a degree of uncertainty when those big choices have to be made. If more clarity can be provided for students when they are making those choices, that should be encouraged. Our party has been to the fore in raising that issue, and, indeed, I know that the deputy First Minister has raised it at the North/South Ministerial Council, with the Taoiseach and with other relevant stakeholders. We want a system that is fair for our students and for students here to have those choices not only open to them but achievable through appropriate recognition of their academic achievements. Whilst the Member on the opposite Benches has indicated his disappointment that the Education Minister is not here for the debate, the Education Minister addressed the issue in response to Mr O'Toole just 20 minutes ago, so his view is on the record.

The CAO system has clearly undervalued A-level qualifications in a way that has been exclusionary towards Northern Ireland students or, at least, forces them to go over and above in their A-level workload, despite the same qualifications being more than acceptable for many world-leading universities. It is, of course, any country's prerogative to set its own system, but, in wanting to support mobility for our students, I observe that there is a continuing disparity and unjustified disadvantage in the current CAO system; a disadvantage that has not been inherent for Republic of Ireland students who engage with UK universities and in our system. Indeed, those students are able to access our universities on a similar basis to students from Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK, rather than as students from a foreign jurisdiction.

Only a minority of applicants from Northern Ireland or the rest of the UK make it all the way through to be offered and to accept a place in Irish higher education institutions. The Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) found that that partly relates to those candidates being less likely than those from Ireland to meet the minimum matriculation requirements. In Northern Ireland, very few students take four A-level subjects, and, therefore, when students apply to an institution in the Republic of Ireland, the points system can cause them difficulty. ESRI produced a report on student mobility in Ireland and Northern Ireland, which found that the points differential and the timing disparity between CAO and UCAS offers, as the Member mentioned, discourages our A-level students from applying to Irish universities. Mr Honeyford's personal experiences reflected some of that as well. The disparity in timing is further demonstrated by the fact that Leaving Certificate students applying to UK institutions will have their offer held pending confirmation from the UCAS system.

From our end, as well as engaging in working towards a fairer system for our students, we may wish to reflect on what more can be done to inform and prepare them for as wide a choice as possible. At my school, as far as I recall, we were encouraged to apply to the universities in Northern Ireland, one in GB and one in the South or internationally, but I am not sure that, back then — it seems a while ago now — I had a full understanding of the system. Perhaps those who expressed an interest in going South had more information provided to them. Nevertheless, students from the UK struggle with the CAO application and the translation of A-level results into Leaving Cert points. The British Council found that some schools in Northern Ireland provided information on the CAO application system but that, generally, students did not receive assistance. The CAO system is challenging for A-level students to navigate and understand.

Cross-border mobility provides opportunities for students and opens doors to a range of courses. That is particularly the case for those who seek to study veterinary medicine, as we have no established veterinary school in Northern Ireland, and it would help to address our current shortage. Undergraduate and postgraduate enrolment in Ireland from students based in the UK has been volatile. In 2020-21, students from Northern Ireland made up only 0·6% of students in Ireland. Numbers from NI have increased each year but increased by only 12 students in 2021-22. If Irish institutions want to attract A-level students to choose their offering, they must provide clarity on how they can do so.

We will support the motion and the amendment.

I thank the Member who moved the motion and will speak in favour of the motion and the amendment.

The motion discusses the disparities between the two systems. Of course, it is a positive aspiration to increase all-Ireland student mobility, but I want to look at this from another angle. We absolutely should want young people across the island to have access to the best educational opportunities. However, while we work to remove barriers, we need to stay focused on the central challenge, which is that Northern Ireland needs to retain and build its skills base if we want to grow our economy. That job starts at home.

Northern Ireland already faces a major skills drain. Over 5,000 of our young people leave every year to study elsewhere, often never returning. We cannot afford to lose even more of our talent, especially when our productivity remains amongst the lowest in these islands. For instance, a recent study showed that only 30% of students who leave Northern Ireland for their studies return to work here. It is worth remembering that Northern Ireland has a major competitive advantage: our undergraduate tuition fees are among the lowest in the UK and are relatively low compared with those in the Republic of Ireland. That should be a selling point for retaining our students and for attracting others to study here, not an encouragement for our students to study elsewhere to the detriment of our universities.

If we are serious about creating a skills-led economy, we must invest at home. We already have world-class universities in Belfast and Londonderry, with Queen's and Ulster. It is essential that we continue to support their growth. While I understand the reasoning behind the motion, I question the proposers' desire to promote more students going across the border while they cheerlead the expansion of Magee. We should be focused on student mobility within Northern Ireland and on removing barriers for those who wish to study here to support our university sector and the wider local economy, although, if we are to have greater cooperation on further education across the island, it must be focused on core subjects such as medicine and STEM to support our skills shortages.

Yes, let us work to reduce obstacles to all-Ireland study where it makes sense, but let us be clear: our top priority must be to build the skills and retain the talent that Northern Ireland needs for the future. That means investing in our universities, in affordable housing for our students and in promoting Northern Ireland as a world-class and accessible place to study and build a life.

Recognising not only the progress that has been made towards achieving parity in university admissions across the island but the challenges that still exist, I welcome the motion and the amendment.

For too long, students from the North have faced unnecessary barriers when trying to access higher education in the South. The SDLP has consistently called for those obstacles to be dismantled to ensure that there is an easy process for students who wish to study on the island, North and South. For a long time, previous requirements put unnecessary pressure on students from the North and forced them to keep doing four A levels, because having only three, as other Members have mentioned, would not generate enough points to meet the admissions criteria. That was grossly unfair.

Cross-border pathways must be strengthened. Student mobility remains too low. Students from the North make up just 0·6% of students in Southern universities. Meanwhile, a quarter of our higher education students here, which is over 16,000 of our young people, are studying in Britain, and many never return. I was almost one of them. That brain drain takes talent from our economy and society. Removing barriers to studying across this island is essential because it will not only keep skills on the island but strengthen our economy and communities. Cross-border student mobility grows our skills base, keeps our young people at home and sends a clear signal of political and economic stability to the world.

It is about more than just economics; it is about building a shared future and pushing for reconciliation across the island — our shared island. Prosperity is possible when we overcome the nonsensical restrictive barriers in academia and education. That will help create new opportunities for young people from the North and the South to live, learn and grow together. If we are serious about building a new Ireland, we must foster a shared identity through things such as education, health and, of course, employment. Greater alignment between higher education institutions in the North and the South will also benefit the Magee campus and the wider north-west. With stronger cross-border partnerships and streamlined admissions, Magee can become a thriving educational hub, particularly in fields such as medicine, and that will help us to reach the 10,000-student target as soon as possible.

Brexit and increasing competition for international students have also made today's conversation even more urgent, as many challenges remain. As other Members have mentioned — really articulately, by the way — there is a lack of information, and study options across the border are not communicated enough to our young people, meaning that options are available to them that they are not even aware of. There is total unfamiliarity with the application process and ongoing concerns about financial support. In particular, our young people who want to study in Dublin or the surrounding area really struggle with housing. We cannot leave our students and young people to navigate that alone, given the challenges that still evidently exist.

Today's reforms are a major achievement in fairness and opportunity on our island. Some things have changed, which is positive, but we must ensure that we do all that we can to overcome the remaining challenges. We must do what we can to ensure that the process is smooth and that we provide clarity to our young people and give them the support that they need to reach their ambitions and prosper.

I support the motion. It is an important conversation for us.

I was born in the USA: Up Stairs Altnagelvin. At the time when I was born, a few miles over the road, several cousins of mine were born in Donegal, in the Twenty-six Counties. I have cousins — I am one of something like 35 grandchildren on my mum's side — who are of a similar age to me, and nothing separated our start in life except the border on our island, yet we had completely different opportunities as a result. That highlights the challenges that we are discussing and the things that we want to change.

People are not made aware when they are 16 or 17 of the opportunities that they have and what they have to do to avail themselves of different educational paths. I saw that clearly as I was growing up and speaking to my family members. They were working just as hard as I was, and I was working as hard as they were, yet the routes that were open to us were completely different. I was completely unaware of things that I needed to do in order to get the same sort of education that they were getting and vice versa. When I think of my cousins from west Donegal trekking to Dublin and the challenges in that — other Members mentioned them — it seems ridiculous that they were not able to go to Derry or Belfast, which are much closer, much cheaper and much easier places for them to attain their education. However, because of the differences in our system, there was another barrier in place, and so they were not able to avail themselves of such opportunities and ended up driving for four hours to Dublin and paying ridiculous rents and all the costs incurred in that regard.

We know that this is a common-sense approach. Just a few weeks ago, the ESRI report told us that we needed an upscaling of cross-border skills, employment and education and that there are benefits for all of us if we focus on that. It also stated that people who get their qualifications in a particular place are more likely to then be employed in that place. Therefore, it makes sense that we offer people as many choices as possible and that we open that up and have that conversation.

I welcome this work. It is key that the Education Minister places a priority on this so that all of our young people have all of the information that they need — knowledge is power — to see clearly what suits them best and what will give them the future that they want.

The next Member to speak will be junior Minister Reilly to respond to the debate. Minister, you have up to 15 minutes.

Go raibh míle maith agat, a Phríomh-Leas-Cheann Comhairle.

[Translation: Thank you very much, Principal Deputy Speaker.]

I welcome the opportunity to speak to the motion on behalf of Minister Archibald and thank Members for bringing the issue to the Floor. As the proposer of the motion stated, people should be free to study anywhere on the island. To support that, we need to remove barriers to people from the South who want to study in the North and vice versa.

The review of A-level grade equivalences undertaken by the Irish Government is welcome. I understand that universities in the South have embraced it and are implementing the changes for applications for the coming academic year. The changes mean that A-level students from the North will no longer be required to achieve four top A-level grades to obtain maximum points; instead, those applicants will be considered for university places in the South with three A levels and one or two AS levels. That places students from across the island on a more equal footing with regard to the admissions points calculation system that operates in the South.

The Economy Minister has engaged with the National Union of Students-Union of Students in Ireland on cross-border student mobility, and her officials have worked with the Secondary Students' Union, which represents sixth-form students across the North, to improve information and guidance on applying for higher education courses across Britain and Ireland on nidirect. The Economy Department's Careers Service publication titled 'A Guide to Career Entry Routes' has also been updated. That publication is available online and is distributed to all schools in the North. The Careers Service is also considering the publication of a bulletin specifically about applying to HE and how to work with the Department of Education and schools to ensure that that information is disseminated to teachers.

In terms of financial support for students, from academic year 2024-25, postgraduate students from the North studying in the South have been able to access a tuition fee loan. Economy officials are actively working with the Student Loans Company to make a similar loan available to students from the North studying part-time undergraduate courses in the South. Those measures will help to alleviate some of the financial barriers to cross-border study.

Regarding access to doctoral study in the North, following recent changes to the terms and conditions of the Department's postgraduate award scheme, PhD students from the South of Ireland will be eligible to receive the full stipend, as well as payment of tuition fees under the scheme. Previously, students from the South were eligible for fee support only. Minister Archibald recently had a very positive meeting with her counterpart in the South, James Lawless TD, to discuss how they can work together to address the various barriers to all-Ireland student mobility. While various improvements have been made to date, there is more to be done, which Members have highlighted and of which Minister Archibald is aware. In January, when Conor Murphy was Economy Minister, he met the CEO of UCAS. The increased cooperation between UCAS and the CAO to date is very encouraging. Officials will continue to facilitate that cooperation with a view to ensuring that that momentum is maintained and opening further discussions about admission dates and clearing processes.

It is important that students of all ages be provided with clear guidance and support at the earliest possible opportunity to enable them to make informed choices and navigate the admissions processes. The Department of Education will have an important role in making sure that pupils have an awareness of a clear pathway of options and that their needs when applying for higher education courses across the island are met.

In closing, I thank colleagues for joining me today to discuss this important issue. The Economy Ministers, North and South, will continue to work together to make sure that barriers to all-Ireland student mobility are addressed and that all students, North and South, have equal opportunity to access higher education institutions across the island.

The next Member to speak is Nick Mathison to wind up the debate on the amendment. Nick, you have five minutes.

Thank you, Principal Deputy Speaker. I rise to wind up the debate on the Alliance amendment to the motion. I do not need to reflect in too much detail the points of the debate, as I think that there has been broad agreement across the House, maybe with slightly different emphases. There seemed to be agreement that a more equitable system that promotes student mobility across the island of Ireland is to be welcomed, promoted and encouraged. It is a positive outworking of the debate that we have cross-party consensus on that. I welcome in particular the junior Minister's comments that, while some progress has been made, it is not a level playing field currently and that work needs to be done on the admissions process at the CAO.

My colleague David Honeyford set out the issues clearly from the Alliance Party perspective. He set out the benefits of the promotion of student mobility across the island. I will do my best not to rehearse any of his comments verbatim, but I may struggle and end up repeating some of what he said. Essentially, Alliance fully supports a higher education ecosystem across the island that promotes equality of access to institutions and to opportunities across the island. It is clear from the debate that we are all aware that unfair obstacles remain for many students in Northern Ireland. That is why we tabled the amendment. While we acknowledge that progress has been made and want to recognise the value of equitable access to higher education across the island, we want to be clear that a substantial amount of work is still to be done to create a level playing field for students in Northern Ireland.

It bears mention that, while the motion references the Education Minister, who undoubtedly has a role in this, the lack of reference to the Economy Minister in the motion seemed to be a glaring omission. If we are going to have a higher education system on the island that truly offers equality of access, North and South, the Economy Minister and her Southern counterpart will need to engage meaningfully to address the outstanding issues. I hope that our amendment brings that Economy focus in. Many of the Members who contributed to the debate sit on the Economy Committee, which, maybe, speaks to where some of the focus on the motion sits.

I do not want to rehearse all of the issues that have been discussed, but it is important to re-emphasise some of the barriers that exist for our students in Northern Ireland. I will focus on one in particular, which is the recent change that means that A-level candidates no longer need to achieve four A* grades, including an A* in maths, further maths or pure maths. While that is progress, as many have said, students still need to achieve top grades in three A levels in combination with a fourth A level or AS level, with one of those subjects still being maths, to get the maximum 625 points. That is simply not a level playing field, and David Honeyford set that out clearly from his family experience. I really urge the Economy Minister to take that forward, as well as all of the other issues that we have highlighted on which there is not genuine equity at the minute, with her counterpart in the South.

I will leave my comments at that point. We are clear about the issues, and we are clear about where the disparities sit. We are clear about where CAO and UCAS need to work better together, particularly on admissions timelines. The idea that, just because you may want to study in Trinity or Cork or Galway, you are compelled to defer your entry to give yourself some certainty is not a fair scenario for our students. Undoubtedly, there is a role for the Education Minister. It would have been good to hear from him today, and perhaps the Education Committee can pick up on this at its meeting this week. It would be really welcome to know what the Education Minister will do in the space around certainty and assurances that information will be communicated clearly to students in all schools around Northern Ireland on the changes that have already been made and on any future changes to the admissions process. I welcome the fact that there has been support across the House for our amendment.

The appetite for the promotion of student mobility across the island is welcome. Ultimately, it would benefit students, North and South. That is something that we all should be able to support today. Thank you.

Thank you, Nick. The next Member to speak will be Cathy Mason. She will conclude and make the winding-up speech on the motion. Cathy, you have up to 10 minutes.

Go raibh maith agat, a Phríomh-Leas-Cheann Comhairle.

[Translation: Thank you, Madam Principal Deputy Speaker.]

I welcome the opportunity to participate in this debate and to make a winding-up speech on the motion, which, I think it is safe to say, has had broad agreement across all parties. As suggested by the Member who has just spoken, it is not worth going through everything that everybody has said, because we have that broad agreement.

We believe that it is important that all children and young people have opportunities to develop appropriate knowledge and skills so that they can become economically active, find gainful employment and thrive. It is crucial that all children and young people, including those with disabilities, those from low-income families and those with special educational needs, are given support, knowledge, encouragement and opportunities to overcome barriers and avail themselves of education and training at whatever facility meets their needs, no matter where it is.

Sinn Féin believes in an all-island approach to education that is based on accessibility and inclusion and is free from barriers. Despite their living on a small island, it is clear that partition has had a huge impact on where young people choose to study — something that has limited their opportunities. Cross-border student enrolment on the island has remained low. Students from the North make up less than 1% of the student populations in the South's colleges, as Cara Hunter mentioned, even with a lack of third-level education capacity in the North. Differences in admissions and funding, and a general lack of collaboration between government institutions, have resulted in limited opportunities for young people. The process of going to university in Belfast or Derry should be the same as the process of going to college in Galway or Dublin. I commend the work of my colleagues Pádraig Delargy MLA and Mairéad Farrell TD, as well as many others, who have worked tirelessly to try to progress the issue.

Reducing barriers to all-island student mobility is also a priority for my colleague the Economy Minister, Caoimhe Archibald. As junior Minister Reilly outlined, Minister Archibald's Department has worked with students to design and publish improved information and guidance for students from the North who wish to apply to higher education in the South. Minister Archibald's Department has also introduced access to a tuition fee loan to postgraduate students from the North who are studying in the South, and work is ongoing to provide tuition fee support to students from the North who are studying part-time in the South.

The junior Minister outlined, and I acknowledge, the call that has been made by the North's Secondary Students' Union, with support from the South's Second-level Students' Union, for reform of the university application process between North and South. It is also welcome that further progress has been made in providing equivalence in A-level and Leaving Certificate admissions processes ahead of the 2025-26 academic year. The amendment to the admissions process is a significant step forward in opening opportunities for Northern students to attain university degrees in institutions across Ireland. As we know, previous arrangements created inequalities for Northern students because their grades were not recognised equally in the points systems and admission processes. The changes for the upcoming year will help address that imbalance and, in doing so, improve cross-border student mobility. Sinn Féin has long called for those changes to be made so that Northern students stand a fair chance of accessing courses and opportunities in universities in the South. The Department of Education must ensure that young people have the necessary information and guidance to apply for courses through the Central Applications Office processes. While it is disappointing that the Education Minister is not here this afternoon, it was positive to hear his acknowledgement earlier that there are circumstances in certain areas in education in which the North lags way behind.

Sinn Féin will continue to work to remove barriers and to promote education opportunities across Ireland as the best way to increase access to third-level education. Given the debate, it is clear that we should all continue to work to improve cross-border student mobility to enable our children and young people to build a future and a career in the communities on this island. Go raibh míle maith agat.

[Translation: Thank you very much.]

Question, That the amendment be made, put and agreed to.

Main Question, as amended, put and agreed to.

Resolved:

That this Assembly welcomes the progress made in providing equivalence in A-level and Leaving Certificate admissions processes ahead of the 2025-26 academic year; recognises that there remain ongoing disparities in admissions that create unfair obstacles for students here seeking to access higher education institutions across the island of Ireland; notes the confirmation from Universities Ireland that the Central Applications Office (CAO) process will be amended to provide greater parity, including the allocation of 25 bonus points for A-level students completing maths and the recognition of a fourth AS Level in admissions calculations; further welcomes the increased levels of cooperation between UCAS and the CAO on delivering that and urges further cooperation on admission dates and clearing processes; acknowledges the benefit that increased cross-border student mobility brings in ensuring that students have additional options to upskill and find work across the island; commends the ongoing efforts to enhance cross-border student mobility; calls on the Minister of Education to ensure that students receive clear guidance and support in navigating the revised admissions process; and calls on the Minister for the Economy to continue to work with her counterparts in the Irish Government to further close the gap in ongoing disparities.

Members, please take your ease for a moment.

(Mr Deputy Speaker [Mr Blair] in the Chair)