Cross-border cooperation is the best way to meet the educational challenges across the island, Sinn Féin's Caitriona Ruane told a union conference today.
Ms Ruane was speaking at the Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland's annual conference in Sligo. She is to be Northern Ireland's Education Minister under the power-sharing administration.
She said the Middletown Centre for Autism, which will soon begin providing services for children throughout Ireland, is 'a very clear example of how we can work together'.
'We have a real opportunity to develop confident young citizens, able to work together, to create secure and prosperous futures for themselves and for future generations,' she added.
When she becomes Education Minister, she plans to ensure the curriculum is properly focused and delivered in good quality schools, so opportunities are kept open for young people throughout their time in school.
