A number of prominent Catholic voices have rejected a claim by President Michael D. Higgins that denominational education abandons children “to parcels of hate and memory”.

Mr Higgins’ claim that schools in the region are segregated has also been rebuked as an attempt to offer a “superficial analysis” on the debate on education.

Speaking on The Late Late Show on Friday, President Higgins said that faith-based schools in the North can no longer be justified.

Speaking to The Irish Catholic, Baroness Nuala O’Loan said she didn’t accept the president’s analysis. “I don’t know of any Catholic – or indeed any Protestant – who has ever told me that they were taught to hate the other people – the other side if you like – in school,” she said.

She described it as a “surprisingly political statement for a president to make”.

She said the comments were not respectful “of the rights of the people of Northern Ireland to make their own decisions about the type of education they wish to provide for the children of Northern Ireland”.