New figures from the NI Statistics and Research Agency (Nisra) suggest there will be more pensioners than schoolchildren in Northern Ireland by 2030.

The Nisra figures show that between 2022 and 2030 the pensioner population will have grown from 315,000 to 356,000. The South will reach this cross-over point at about the same time according to CSO statistics.

The number of children, aged 15 and under in the North, will have fallen from 389,000 to 349,000.

The reduction is driven by long term trends of increased life expectancy and falling birth rates.

A rapidly aging society is likely to have significant implications for public services.

The impact on schools will be felt over the next decade.

A Co Antrim school principal, Leanne Smyth, told the BBC that the number of pupils in her school is down more than a third compared to 19 years ago.