I declare that I have two immediate family members who work in schools in West Belfast.

Unfortunately, my West Belfast constituency has amongst the highest rates of educational underachievement in the North; the highest number of people on the housing waiting list; the highest number of households affected by welfare reforms, such as the two-child tax limit; and the highest rates of poverty, with 28·5% of children living in poverty. Some 26 years on from the Good Friday Agreement, working-class communities like West Belfast and beyond suffer worse levels of poverty and deprivation than ever. Given the link between poverty, class and educational outcomes, it is no surprise that educational underachievement remains so high in West Belfast.

The other thing that has remained constant in that time is that, for the most part, West Belfast has been dominated by Sinn Féin. The promised peace dividend, opportunities for a better life, better education and so on have not been felt in working-class communities like mine. That is because the brutal economic policies that have been inflicted on working-class people by Stormont have stymied the potential of generations of people, including school pupils. That is not to single out one party, but the experience of West Belfast points to the collective policy of the Stormont Executive, which has devastated our communities through years of punishing cuts. The education cuts suffered by schools on the Falls under Sinn Féin's watch are the same as those suffered by pupils and schools on the Newtownards Road or the Shankill Road under the DUP's watch, and so on.

It is a disgrace that, almost every year, we see schools being forced to fundraise for basic materials, early years initiatives fight to stay open and youth clubs and other educational settings fight to save services that are under constant threat from Stormont. Just last year, we heard that the strategy from the 'A Fair Start' report to tackle educational underachievement was underfunded to the tune of £18·9 million in 2023-24. I have seen nothing to suggest that the new Administration are about to make up any of the shortfall. So, while I agree with the instigator of the Adjournment debate that we need to fund early years, champion emotional health and well-being, support our teachers and make the curriculum and exam process relevant to the needs of our young people, I ask how that is possible in the context of an austerity Budget once again brought forward by a Sinn Féin Finance Minister and subsequently agreed by the DUP and the Alliance Party. According to the strategy outlined by the Executive parties, prioritising funding to deal with educational underachievement will require cuts to other areas. I do not think that school communities, early years or youth services should accept any funding agreement that says that you have to rob Peter to pay Paul. The difficulty for the Executive is that to deal with any of these issues facing our young people, schools and communities, you have to break with the Tories and fund services at any cost.

Dealing with educational underachievement will also require a holistic approach that deals with poverty as the root cause of these problems. Anti-poverty strategy? We are still waiting. How many years has that been? Children cannot concentrate in class whilst going hungry or worrying about their next meal. Therefore this Sinn Féin- and DUP-led Government cannot deal with educational underachievement whilst cutting workers' wages, implementing such welfare reforms as the two-child tax limit, hiking people's rates bills or bringing forward anti-working-class, revenue-raising measures. Homeless children, or children in substandard accommodation, cannot do homework or study in cramped living spaces or while sofa-surfing. Therefore, you cannot tackle educational underachievement while failing to build social homes and refusing to deal with the housing crisis. You cannot deal with educational underachievement while cutting school funding, youth services or refusing to give education support workers a much-needed pay and grading review. Unfortunately, like much of what we hear from the Government, none of it matters unless they are prepared to provide the funding needed to match their grand plans and statements. If they are not, they should do us all a favour and stop the grandstanding. Our schools and young people deserve much better.

That is, of course, not to mention the underfunding and pressure faced by the Irish-medium education sector as well. There has been a growth in demand from people who want to educate their kids through Irish-medium education, but often na bunscoileanna agus na naíonraí

[Translation: the primary schools and the nurseries]

cannot accommodate them or cope. I say that as parent of a child whom I hope will avail himself of those services. I want to let the Minister know that parents and family members are organising to put pressure on his Department to ensure that those people who want to educate their children through the medium of Irish have those services and can send their children to na naíonraí agus na bunscoileanna.