There are legitimate concerns as to why young boys from a Protestant background continue to underachieve in education.
That fact has been well documented. One look at the statistics will tell anyone that there is a problem, with those from underprivileged loyalist backgrounds most likely to leave school without qualifications.
That in turn feeds into society. If these youths have little chance of progressing in education, any notion of a career diminishes, so where do they turn in life?
Stormont’s Education Minister will be well aware of the issues. They were laid out in a report from the Expert Panel on educational underachievement. A Fair Start outlined a costed action plan detailing what had to change. Financial backing, as for so many things the Assembly needs to do, has fallen short.
But with everything already laid out on the table, it’s strange that our Education Minister has to meet with representatives of the Loyalist Communities Council (LCC) — a group which includes representatives from the UDA, UVF and Red Hand Commando — to be told what he surely already knows.
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While the intentions may have been to hear concerns directly from ‘grassroots loyalism’, and Paul Givan has made a big play of being ‘an Education Minister for all’, the backlash has been predictable and quick to arrive.
Particularly as it has now given a platform to the organisation, intentional or not, to ‘advise’ the Minister that an Irish language school planned for east Belfast will not be welcomed.
It’s understood Mr Givan will not be influenced by outside parties over any Ministerial decisions, but the fact that the LCC has been granted a direct meeting at such a high level will be uneasy to too many people.
This is a group which the PSNI has said it will have no dealings with. Secretary of State Hilary Benn has also shunned the organisation and has ‘no intention’ of sitting down with representatives.
And if any Minister does have leeway to meet and discuss concerns, surely the Justice Minister would be the one.
It’s not the first time the LCC has been whispering in the ear of the DUP.
The Minister may indeed feel somewhat hijacked, having consented to the meeting “to discuss a range of issues relating to education underachievement in loyalist areas”.
But if you leave the car unlocked and the keys in the ignition, it’s no surprise that any invitation can be used to drive towards an agenda elsewhere in east Belfast.