At the point of its creation Northern Ireland inherited a system based on Irish National Schools. Established with an inclusive ambition, this system became predominantly denominational in character and what emerged was a system of State schools that were Protestant in all but name, and a parallel system of Catholic schools. In the 2000s the debate over a shared future included a focus on schools, and saw the emergence of a new model of shared education in which schools from different sectors work in collaborative networks. Set within the context of consociational and integrationist approaches to conflict resolution, this chapter explores the impact of these structural arrangements for schooling on attitudes and community cohesion. It argues that traditional debates which attempted to balance cohesion and identity interests were based on an assumption that schools operated largely as autonomous units. If schools are seen as part of an interdependent network then new possibilities emerge in networked solutions, which may allow for the privileging of both identity and cohesion. The chapter explores the outworking of this in the Sharing Education Programme (SEP) which has run in Northern Ireland since 2007.

FOI, for a generation of post-Troubles Irish journalists, has unearthed many important stories and allowed journalists to report in the public interest on important investigations. However, restrictions on the Act since 2003 have severely curtailed journalists’ ability to carry out investigations and ensure accountability for the public. Inconsistencies in approach from public bodies have in many cases made the Act almost impossible to use successfully in an accountability role as a reporter. Chronic understaffing at the Office of the Information Commissioner’s office has also meant that, in effect, access delayed is access denied in many instances. Ryan also laments the inability of the FOI regime to implement any system of precedent – and charts his own personal experiences with various public bodies, in which he has requested access to material that both the Information Commissioner and the High Court have previously ruled should be released, but which continues to be denied by decision-makers. He also examines the use of exemptions such as personal information and commercial sensitivity, and demonstrates again how inconsistencies in approach are leading to poor decision-making on FOI by public bodies.

Northern Ireland is a contradictory society in which prejudice and tolerance exist as uneasy neighbours, but where expressions of intolerance dominate public and media perceptions of the norms of inter-communal interaction. This chapter begins to unpack the notions of tolerance and prejudice in relation to Northern Ireland. It argues that tolerance and prejudice are not singular notions but rather may differ in relation to the nature and construct of the ‘other’, the background and status of the individual, and that expressions of intolerance may be triggered by different types of events and activities. These factors may therefore lead to an informal hierarchy of prejudice and tolerance, with some communities being less tolerated than others, while some sections of the community present themselves as more tolerant than others. Finally, while intolerance is individually held, it is experienced most severely when it is socially triggered and collectively expressed, and in the absence of a clear strategy and leadership to promote engagement and respect, outbursts of collective intolerance are only likely to increase.

Presents three critical reflections on the initial intentions, contemporary usage and possible evolution of FOI legislation in Ireland by three practitioners well placed to comment. This chapter combines the thoughts and ideas of Eithne FitzGerald, the original minister in charge and champion of FOI in Ireland; John Carroll, a former policy analyst and political adviser with experience of using the Act both in opposition and in government; and Peter Tyndall, the current FOI Information Commissioner and Ombudsman.

Social exclusion, discrimination and widespread disadvantage are common to the Traveller community. The issue of social exclusion affects all areas of Irish Travellers’ lives, including education. The difficulties facing Travellers with regard to formal education were recognised by the European Parliament through two resolutions in 1989, which stated that Gypsy Travellers and Occupational Travellers (including bargees, circus workers and fairground workers) are the most socially excluded from school education and with the highest levels of illiteracy. In addition issues of attendance and bullying also contribute to lack of attainment and educational progress. This chapter reports on a study in Northern Ireland which assessed the adequacy and effectiveness of primary level education from the perspective of Traveller children and parents, as well as related voluntary and statutory sector organisations. The findings are discussed in relation to the literature on toleration and how this concept illuminates the experiences of Traveller children. The chapter also considers the policy context for Traveller educational provision in Northern Ireland.

Examines the clash between national security and the public interest in Ireland’s FOI legislation. Noting that freedom of information is grounded in the public interest to access information, whereas national security typically tries to restrict information to protect the security of the state, the chapter examines legal and constitutional parameters in which the restriction Introduction of access to information operates. It assesses how Ireland’s FOI legislation measures up against international norms of FOI in this area and examines the challenges to litigating the public interest in such cases where Irish courts have always shown undue deference to the will and arguments of the state. The chapter concludes by arguing that Ireland’s national security restrictions are disproportionate to its security threats, serving rather to stifle democratic debate and effective discussion of government policy.

Freedom of information (FOI) is important because it aims to makes government open, transparent and accountable. FOI legislation is based on the premise that people have the right of access to public documents, save for certain exemptions. The philosophy behind such legislation is that citizens have a ‘right to know’ how and why decisions are made by government in their name. In this respect, it is often argued that FOI legislation also has the potential to lead to more accountable government, less corruption and better democratic outcomes for states. In short, FOI presents a key element in effective political reform. In the aftermath of massive economic, political and social crisis and upheaval in Ireland there is widespread agreement about the need for political reform, but far less consensus about what form this reform should take. This book presents the case for FOI and examines the potential it offers for better government, as well as the limits and constraints to what the most recent FOI legislation might deliver.

This chapter defends the ongoing value of toleration for the construction of a shared future for a divided society like Northern Ireland. The device of toleration as a tool for coping with social diversity has been challenged on the grounds that it embodies undesirably negative attitudes to minority practices and inequalities of social and political power. It is argued, however, that the proposed alternative, typically characterized as a form of positive recognition, fails to come to terms with the complex nature of struggles for recognition within a society like Northern Ireland. The demand for some forms of cultural recognition pose a direct challenge to equality on the one hand, while, on the other hand, the relationship between those who seek recognition and those who claim the authority to grant recognition also reflects an underlying inequality. Following a brief exploration of the sorts of recognition struggles evident within Northern Ireland, a model of equal respect, grounding both toleration and civility, is defended as the most desirable and realistic basis for a shared future for citizens of divided societies.

This chapter focuses on social connections: on the ways in which people create, maintain and extend their social connections through the experience of migration. It considers three different ways of thinking about social connections: language, family and community. The chapter focuses on the changing meaning of family for migrants living in Ireland and for migrants from Ireland living elsewhere, and shows the ways in which family changes across space and time. In migration studies, the term community often refers to migrants with a shared nationality, such as the Irish community in Australia or the Polish community in Ireland. Maggie O'Neill suggests that there are three basic meanings of the term 'community': relating first to place; second to a group of people living in a place; and third to 'togetherness'.

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book explores the relationship between Ireland and migration in the twenty-first century. It focuses on the Republic of Ireland, with some brief references to Northern Ireland. The book provides a framework for mapping migration to and from Ireland, and the experiences of migrants and non-migrants in and beyond Ireland, in the twenty-first century. As people from Ireland made new homes, they encountered obstacles that included prejudice and violence. Ireland as a place has been influenced by both the act and the meaning of migration: by the physical movement of people in, to and from Ireland, and by the symbolic implications of that movement. Small-scale studies in the UK, for example, highlighted the extent to which people moved there from Ireland to escape violence and other difficult situations.

This chapter addresses the construction of Traveller identity in Ireland. It is argued that contemporary discourses of tolerance, diversity and multiculturalism, rather than leading to respect for Travellers and increased ‘tolerance’ of their lifestyle, have merely perpetuated their historical situation and an assimilationist approach towards Traveller culture. To shed light on why negative and intolerant attitudes to Travellers continue to prevail, the chapter traces and deconstructs the way in which academic research has been an influential element of the complex discursive landscape which frames Travellers’ lives. It describes some of the processes of thought and styles of investigation by which academics and sedentary society have come to ‘know’ Irish Travellers, and discusses how academic research and the construction of particular ‘knowledges’ has contributed to creating and maintaining power relations of inequality. Finally, it argues for the importance of alternative forms of scholarship which draw on stronger participatory approaches and examine broader societal narratives pertaining to the sedentary society.

The conclusion draws out some comparisons and contrasts between the preceding chapters, and between the responses to the various challenges that have arisen in Ireland, North and South in order to reflect whether or not there are lessons to be learnt in either jurisdiction from practices on the other side of the border. What are the limits of toleration in terms of practices, participation, and so forth? How comparable are the issues arising, and to what extent are similar or different frames of reference in operation in the two jurisdictions? The variety of approaches serves to demonstrate the complexity of the issues that arise, and militates against over-simplified responses, whether theoretical or practical. The chapter argues in conclusion for the importance of further cross-border comparison on these issues.

Examines the citizen’s experience of FOI. It begins with a basic ‘how to’ guide to making an FOI request and details citizens’ usage of the Act since its inception. Following an examination of significant Information Commissioner rulings that, it is argued, have shaped the evolution of the Act, the chapter assess a sample of citizens’ experiences making FOI requests. The chapter is co-authored by former journalist and current academic, Tom Felle, and Gavin Sheridan, investigative journalist and citizen activist for FOI; both of whom have quite different citizen experiences to relate. Utilising the reported experiences of personal and non-personal FOI requests, this chapter details quite different levels of satisfaction with the two FOI processes.