Mervyn Storey: I thank the Member for reminding us of that point. One of the challenges is that, in many places, parents are encouraged not to put down their religious affiliation on the assessment form but to put down "Other". There is a serious issue with schools that claim to be integrated but are not integrated because they do not meet the threshold. The figures bear that out.
Mervyn Storey: That has been borne out — I will not name the schools — in some areas where there have been proposals for the amalgamation of schools. When the integrated sector — that is what it is: it is a sector; the same as the maintained, controlled and Irish-medium sectors — comes to the table, it demands that any new provision has to have integrated in its title. There is no working together....
Mervyn Storey: No. I thought that the proposer said, "On a point of order".
Mervyn Storey: Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. The Member for East Belfast would like to take representatives of the transferors off boards of governors. Let us remember that the proposer of the Bill, in her opening comments —
Mervyn Storey: Yes.
Mervyn Storey: Are you denying —.
Mervyn Storey: I will come back to the Bill and the issue of consultation. The proposer —
Mervyn Storey: Yes.
Mervyn Storey: I thank the Member for that, and I concur with his comments. What sometimes drives Members is that their position is more important than anybody else's position. It is not that many years ago that the Alliance Party had a poster that said, "Let's pull together. Let's not pull apart". Clearly, it wants to pull the educational system apart and drive a coach and horses through our current...
Mervyn Storey: I thank the Member for that intervention. That brings me to an allied issue specifically mentioned in clause 7, where the Bill proposes that "When planning for the establishment of a new school, education bodies must" — not "may", but "must". One of the few benefits of being around this place has been that we have all come to realise that these pieces of paper are more important than...
Mervyn Storey: Yes, I will give way.
Mervyn Storey: I declare an interest as a member of the board of governors of Ballymoney High School, William Pinkerton Memorial Primary School in Dervock and Ballymoney Independent Christian School, albeit the last school does not receive one penny from the Department of Education. When my wife and I, as parents, made a choice to send our children to that school, we were happy to make that choice and to...
Mervyn Storey: Does the Member say something from a sedentary position?
Mervyn Storey: Many things embarrass me but not failed policies that have emanated from a lot of those. For most of those, it was a Sinn Féin Education Minister, which we had for 10 years. A lot of people come to the House and talk about equality, whatever that means. It all depends on what the issue is and what suits you, but let us remember the 1989 Order that was changed. It placed a duty on the...
Mervyn Storey: I thank the Member for giving way. I am glad that he has, at last, come off the fence, because, for some time, I wondered where he was going. Is he in favour of the Bill or not? As someone who values the controlled sector and the maintained sector, does he genuinely believe that there are no concerns and that there are no issues in the Bill that will have massive financial, practical and...
Mervyn Storey: Will the Member give way?
Mervyn Storey: Not for the first time, the Member opposite has a narrow and particularly republican view of history. In 1830, there was a multi-denominational common school system. In 1921, when Northern Ireland came into existence, the Roman Catholic Church decided not to take its place in a multi-denominational education system. Maybe the Member, not for the first time, needs to get his historical context...
Mervyn Storey: I thank the Member for giving way. The Member again conveniently forgets about the Northern Ireland Audit Office report. He talks about inequalities and blames everybody for the ills in society, including the British Government and probably the famine, but more than £100,000 — millions of pounds, in fact — was spent on interventions, and the Audit Office has said that those have not...
Mervyn Storey: T3. Mr Storey asked the Minister for Infrastructure whether she will give serious consideration to an integrated transport facility in Ballymoney, the only regional town without such a facility, so that bus and rail services are integrated in a way that gives passengers the best possible experience, given that, although it is an issue that she has sought to champion, Ballymoney, where he...
Mervyn Storey: I thank the Minister for giving us that opportunity, and we will respond. Will she also keep in mind that it is not just about the impact that it has on local commuters in Ballymoney? The town of Ballycastle is very dependent on its bus connection to Ballymoney for the train service, which has been a phenomenal success. Will she ensure that regional towns like Ballycastle have...