That Mr Kieran McCarthy shall replace Mr David Ford on the Business Committee. - [Mr Ford.]

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Holy Cross Primary School

The Business Committee has allocated two hours for the debate on the Holy Cross Primary School. Many Members have indicated that they wish to speak. In order to facilitate as many Members as possible, I have decided to allocate times as follows: the mover of the motion will have 10 minutes to move and 10 minutes to wind up. One amendment has been accepted; the mover will have seven minutes to move and five minutes to wind up. The Minister responding on behalf of the Executive will have available the usual time for a ministerial response to a motion. However, it is for the Minister to decide whether he takes the full time. I remind all Members that those are maximum times, not minimum ones.

All other Members will have five minutes in which to speak. If the Question has not been put by 2:30pm, when Question Time must begin, the debate will resume at 4:00pm and continue until completion. The House will then vote on the amendment and the motion.

I beg to move

Last week the entire globe watched a single image of Belfast. What can only be described as one of the most frightening and depressing episodes in the past 30 years was witnessed from every corner of the globe. Schoolgirls, aged four to 11, and their parents were physically and verbally assaulted. They were made to run a gauntlet of sectarian hatred and violence. Stones, bottles, curses, whistles, air horns and a blast bomb were the ammunition used by the so-called protesters who spent a week mounting a blockade at the Holy Cross Primary School. The protesters’ objectives were to harass, intimidate, injure and, in the case of loyalist paramilitaries, kill Catholic school children and their parents. If anyone was in any doubt about that, the Ulster Defence Association, acting under the name of the Red Hand Defenders, issued death threats to back that up. -[Interruption].

Members will get their chance to defend the protesters in a minute.

After a week of sectarian hatred and violence on Ardoyne Road, much of which was orchestrated by Loyalist paramilitaries and defended, as we can hear, by some within the Unionist political establishment, the blockade was back on the streets this morning. Once again, Catholic children had to pass through a tunnel of bigotry to get to school and receive their education. What has happened on Ardoyne Road is not complicated - it is a clear and simple case of sectarianism in its rawest and most unpalatable form. It is unfortunately, all about "not having a Catholic about the place".

The blockade of the children is politically, ethically and morally wrong. No argument can justify it, and no explanation can underpin it. Protesting against school ­children is wrong. Screaming sectarian abuse at school­ children is wrong. Blowing whistles and air horns at children is wrong. Throwing rocks, bottles and blast bombs at children is wrong. Any form of blockade or protest against children on their way to school is wrong. -[Interruption]. I notice that a teacher is attacking what I have said.

Politicians should recognise that those actions are wrong and they should call for the blockade to end. If they do anything short of that, they will let the bigots off the hook and provide them with the political cover for their attacks on young children. It is a matter of protecting the human and civil rights of children.

The blockade began at the end of the last school term, after a week in which Loyalists and the RUC prevented parents and their children from entering their school through the front door. During the 11 weeks of the summer holidays, channels between the Nationalist and Loyalist communities were opened, in an attempt to resolve the dispute. Parents engaged with Loyalist residents through the media and networked for six weeks. Cross- community contact was initiated involving workers from Ardoyne and residents in Glenbryn. Sinn Féin used its contacts in the Loyalist community for five weeks in an attempt to produce a resolution. In the end, all those efforts failed, but not through a lack of sincerity or attempts on the Nationalist and Republican side to reach an accommodation.

Despite the failure of the dialogue to produce a solution, and the week-long series of attacks on children and parents in Ardoyne, all sections of the Nationalist community have put on record their willingness to enter into dialogue urgently. Community leaders, parents, political representatives and ordinary residents are all saying that dialogue is the only way forward and that that must be achieved sooner, rather than later.

Throughout the last week, Unionists, Loyalist politicians and some community workers have sought to justify or excuse the blockade. They have aired spurious arguments through the media. It has been said that the protest is against the parents and not the children. The cameras show that the abuse is aimed directly at the children. Some say that the parents are Republicans. However, any Catholic school in the North will include a mixture of Sinn Féin voters, SDLP voters, non-voters and voters for other parties. Sinn Féin is the largest Nationalist party in the area; the children of its members have a right to education. Like any other children, they have the right to have their parents leave them to school, regardless of their parents’ politics - or lack of politics.

Some say that there is an alternative route. There is no safe alternative route. The route via the Crumlin Road is much longer and passes through the same Protestant area. There have been many attacks on Catholics and their homes on the Crumlin Road. There have been innumerable attacks on other children travelling to and from the other Catholic schools in the area. Furthermore, there is no disabled access, and children have to cross a muddy football pitch to get to the back door of the school.

Parents have also been attacked for allowing their children to go through the blockade. That is very distressing for the parents. Logic is turned on its head when those who perpetrate such acts of violence on children and their parents blame the victims for the abuse. It is a despicable misrepresentation of the deep and heartfelt anxiety that each parent has had to face each day.

It is said that Glenbryn is an isolated Loyalist enclave; it is not. Glenbryn is part of a huge Loyalist or Unionist area stretching from the Crumlin Road to the Antrim Road. In fact, it is difficult to get into the Nationalist Ardoyne area without passing through Loyalist areas. Glenbryn residents complain of attacks on their area by Nationalists - fair enough. However, the vast bulk of attacks in this interface area over the past 5 years have been carried out by Loyalists against Catholics and their homes. The DUP already knows that, because it has checked the statistics. Almost all of the gun and bomb attacks in the area have been by Loyalist paramilitaries on Catholics and their homes.

It is said that peaceful protest is a democratic right - again, fair enough. However, the human rights of children actually supersede any right to protest against them. David Ervine says that it is a cry for help, yet he knows that the UDA is deeply involved and has carried out around 200 bomb and gun attacks against Catholics this year alone. If it is a cry for help, it is a violent one.

Are there problems of deprivation and poverty in Glenbryn? Undoubtedly, there are. It is a working-class Protestant area that has suffered from much neglect. Unfortunately, the Catholic working-class areas have been suffering from the same governmental neglect, discrim­ination and oppression for generations. Nationalist and Republican residents and community workers are more than willing and ready to share experiences and work out ways to tackle common problems - and there are many common problems of economic and social neglect. However, primary school children are not to blame for any of that and should not be punished.

There is no doubt that communities such as Glenbryn have a range of problems that must be addressed by politicians and community leaders. Such problems are not unique to that estate; they feature in many parts of north Belfast. Politicians and community leaders must work together on those issues as partners, both within and between communities. We must share our experience and knowledge. We must build relationships and accept the responsibility that comes with leadership and with living as neighbours.

I would like to pay tribute to all the parents, children and teachers of Holy Cross Primary School. They have shown magnificent resilience, courage and dignity in the face of an unwarranted onslaught. They have the respect of all decent people. This is the European Year of the Child. The European Convention on Human Rights places the rights of children above the right to protest. In my opinion, protesting against children is illegal and wrong. If Members support the rights of children, they should be united in their call for the blockade to end. Regardless of our differences, we should be united in calling for face-to-face dialogue to resolve the issue. Go raibh míle maith agat.

One amendment to the motion has been selected. It was not the only amendment submitted, but it is the one that has been selected, and it is published on the Marshalled List.

I beg to move the following amendment: Delete all after "attending" and insert:

The amendment is self-explanatory and deals with the issue on an educational basis, which I understood to be the purpose of the motion before the Assembly.

I listened to the proposer and he made little or no reference to education. Instead we had what might be called a Republican rant, which is very unfortunate.

My amendment is inclusive and is worthy of widespread political support in the House. Due to the situation that exists in north Belfast, Members have a duty to act responsibly and not inflame that situation by their words or actions in the House. Many people will be watching for the reaction of the House.

I am speaking as the Ulster Unionist Party spokesman on education in the Assembly. The reason for the amendment is that it is a basic right of all school children, not just those in north Belfast but those throughout Northern Ireland, to be free from any let or hindrance, or interference, as they travel to and from school. That right extends from Coleraine to Crossmaglen. It applies to Holy Cross Primary School and other schools in that area. Many of the scenes we have witnessed in north Belfast have been unedifying and undoubtedly appalling. I want to place on record the Ulster Unionist position that the party condemns any violence in relation to that or any other incident.

All school children have the right to travel to and from school without interference, abuse or obstruction. I am aware of the possible adverse physical and mental health implications that can happen to the children concerned.

Problems have existed in the area for many years. The RUC has been actively involved for well over 20 years in ensuring the safe passage of pupils throughout that area of north Belfast. I am thinking of schools such as the Girls' Model, the Boys' Model, Wheatfield Primary School and others. Nominally they are state schools - controlled schools - and for many years their pupils have been subjected to verbal abuse and all manner of unnecessary and unwarranted abuse; and we must condemn that. To some extent both communities have been affected. No later than last week primary school pupils, ranging from primary one to primary three, had their school bus attacked en route to Cliftonville Primary School. The House has a duty to condemn that as well.

I hope we all agree that children should not be treated in this way. We should also agree that children should not be used by parents or, perhaps, by any political group to advance a particular agenda. Many of us have a great concern that there have been elements only too glad to see contention and trouble erupt in that area of north Belfast in an attempt to use it to their own narrow political advantage. Sinn Féin/IRA is directly responsible for that. Some people might see it as a way of taking attention away from political matters in other parts of the world such as Colombia. It is very wrong for Sinn Féin to think that it could do that. It is highly cynical, and it is an abuse of parents and children. It is also wrong to imagine that the events in Colombia will not be subject to proper scrutiny, and that they will not be returned to the centre of the political stage in the coming days.

I welcome the acceptance by the Sinn Féin Member for North Belfast that those who wish to peacefully process on a main route should be allowed to do so. That is welcome news for people in other parts of Northern Ireland, particularly with regard to the rights of Orangemen in Portadown.

It is unfortunate when school children have first-hand experience of the conflict. I remember the murderous attack on a school principal who was attempting to teach his class in Newry Model Primary School. That attack was carried out by Republicans, the IRA. It caused considerable trauma, and as a result the school no longer exists. Children have witnessed murderous attacks on school buses and part-time members of the Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR), the RUC and the Royal Irish Regiment (RIR). It is unfortunate that children have been embroiled to a degree in the conflict.

The issues are complex and largely not related to education. I appeal to local community and elected representatives to stand back, cool off and initiate talks to find an early solution. I welcome the Secretary of State's initiative and look for early progress. I hope that Members will conduct themselves in a manner befitting this House and its reputation.

I welcome Mr Kennedy's condem­nation, as Chairman of the Education Committee, of the blockade and protest at Holy Cross Girls' School. However, I cannot support the amendment because it distracts from the core issue - that very blockade by Loyalist protesters. It is insufficient to consider this in an omnibus motion which involves other schools that hitherto have not been affected and, I hope, never will be in the way that Holy Cross Girls' School has been. The amendment serves merely as a distraction from the core issue, and I regret the fact that the Chairman of the Education Committee has moved it.

I rose as an Ulster Unionist party spokes­person on education and not in my role as Chairman of the Education Committee.

I accept the Member's point. None­theless, Unionist politicians should not attempt to take attention away from the core issue - the protest and blockade of that school.

Read the motion.

Mr McCartney will get plenty of opportunity later on, a man who claims to be non- sectarian. The situation in Ardoyne is symptomatic of the failure of all politicians to direct their energies towards dissolving the great sickness of intercommunal sectarianism in our society. The Good Friday Agreement should have given politicians and the community at large the opportunity to address that issue. Unfortunately no attention was paid to addressing sectarianism because of our involvement in political crises.

The two communities in Ardoyne relate to one another in a dysfunctional fashion, with young people hurling bricks and the communities hurling brick bats. That has to end. The Holy Cross Girls' School has become a victim of the collective failure of politicians and the community to respect each other and to live in peace and friendship. It is ironic that the school, under the leadership of Mrs Anne Tanney, an industrious and visionary headmistress, has led the way in trying to build better community relations with the Protestant community. The school was involved in joint holidays and educational ventures with its fellow primary school, Wheatfield, and ecumenical visits and exchanges with the local Church of Ireland church. Holy Cross Girls' School is truly a victim of sectarianism. The so-called protest at the school is not a protest at all. It is a blockade of the school, and it has no moral or political justification.

No objective, fair outsider could say that it has any moral or political justification. Therefore, the protest must end because its continuance has no legitimacy whatsoever. If its alleged purpose is to highlight the Glenbryn community's concerns and grievances, surely after one horrendous week those issues have been sufficiently highlighted publicly. The protest should therefore be terminated to allow a real and constructive dialogue between the two communities - Glenbryn and Catholic Ardoyne - in the Greater Ardoyne area so that all the outstanding issues and grievances affecting the community can be addressed by both communities. There is no doubt that both communities have real concerns and grievances, and there is no doubt that there have been attacks and counter-attacks. All those issues must be addressed. It is not, however, a one-sided situation, and paramount in all of this is the welfare of the children. We must do all we can to end this protest because it is the children who are suffering. They should not be allowed to suffer any further.

Order. The Member's time is up.

We have heard much talk about the suffering of the children. No one has yet mentioned that the only child to have died in this recent period was a Protestant child, murdered as a result of sectarian hatred in north Belfast. It is incumbent on all of us to remember the family of Thomas McDonald, 16, murdered in cold blood last Tuesday morning in the White City area. He is to be remembered, and I deplore any attempt to distract from that.

On a point of order, Mr Speaker. The last remarks referred to the tragic killing of Thomas McDonald. The Member went on to talk about the motivation behind that killing. This matter is sub judice. The Member's remarks could well be prejudicial with regard to the proper trial of the person who has been accused.

Order. I hesitate to intervene between two lawyers on this matter. The laws of sub judice are rather strict, and they are rather tighter than people sometimes imagine regarding the timing at which matters become sub judice. I advise Members to be careful and cautious, and I trust that as lawyers they will not take it as inappropriate that I should advise them on this matter. I will certainly listen carefully to what is being said.

It is shameful that in all the talk about concern for children no one has mentioned the terrible plight of that Protestant family in the White City and what they have gone through. The media and commentators, in many cases from afar, who never speak to people to try to understand their fears and concerns or to work with them - with a few notable exceptions such as some members of the clergy and others - have been strangely silent in ignoring what is going on in other parts of north Belfast. If that had been a child from the other community, there would have been worldwide headlines. People in our community are sick, sore and tired of the one-sided coverage of everything that goes on, not only in north Belfast but in Northern Ireland generally. It is important that that is put on the record.

To see Sinn Féin/IRA nauseatingly exploit this situation once again, as they tried to do in Belfast city hall on Friday and have been doing every day this week for their own narrow political ends, is sickening in the extreme. This is from a party and an individual who have been convicted of crimes not only against the community in Northern Ireland but also against children.

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