According to Education minister Caitriona Ruane the establishment of the ESA will help tackle the "shocking level of underachievement" by a high proportion of Northern Ireland's schoolchildren. For those who don't speak education, ESA is the Education and Skills Authority, the body replacing the existing 5 Education and Library Boards and various other organisations. 

In her speech this week prior to the passing of the bill which set the process in motion she said that the aim is to have the ESA up and running by January 2010. Asked (by party colleague John O'Dowd) how the ESA would improve achievement she said: "under the ESA there will be a significantly increased focus on the professional development of teachers and the enhancement of leadership skills among principals and boards of governors.''

"We have to have a zero-tolerance approach to underachievement and we need to have measures in place that enable underachievement to be tackled,'' she added. "One of the reasons that we are bringing about the establishment of ESA is to streamline administration, to make sure that we get money into the front line".

She also said that the original plans for legislation to simplify the composition of Boards of Governors would have removed the current right of the Transferors’ Representative Council (TRC) to nominate governors for controlled schools. "I recognise the importance of the contribution made by TRC governors for many years, and the need to ensure that their involvement continues. Therefore, I have decided not to proceed with the proposed legislative changes to school governance in the RPA legislation. The relevant legislative provisions will be retained, and the right of the Transferors to nominate school governors will remain" she announced.