Northern Ireland Assembly to discuss Holy Cross school protest

Northern Ireland Assembly members are to debate the Holy Cross Primary School dispute when they return for their first plenary session since the summer break next Monday.

Sinn Fein Assembly member Gerry Kelly’s motion will call on MLAs to support ‘‘the right to education of schoolchildren attending Holy Cross Primary School in north Belfast’’.

He said: ‘‘It is important that now people from across the political spectrum have urged a resolution of the disgraceful situation in north Belfast that the Assembly supports the basic right to education.

‘‘A cross-party message from the Assembly will send out a very clear message to those loyalists who are targeting schoolgirls as young as four for sectarian violence and intimidation that this is not acceptable and that it is not the way to tackle deeper issues.’’