Northern Ireland Assembly

What is the Northern Ireland Assembly?

The Belfast Agreement (also known as the Good Friday Agreement) of April 10 1998 was approved by the people of Northern Ireland in a referendum on 22 May 1998. Among its various provisions taking forward the peace process, the Agreement included proposals for devolved government.

The Northern Ireland Assembly was established by the Northern Ireland (Elections) Act 1998, and elections were held to elect 108 members under the Proportional Representation Single Transferable Vote system.


Background

The Assembly met for the first time on July 1 1998, and Ulster Unionist leader David Trimble and SDLP deputy leader Seamus Mallon were elected as First Minister and Deputy First Minister respectively. Along with these positions, the Northern Ireland Executive Committee includes 10 other Ministers, appointed under the D'Hondt procedure.

The procedure provides each party with substantial representation in the Assembly a proportionate number of Ministers. This makes a 'power sharing' Executive, unlike the adversarial models used elsewhere in the UK. A Devolution Order was approved at Westminster on November 30 1999, which transferred the bulk of the Northern Ireland Office's functions to the Assembly on December 2 2000.

Devolution gave the Assembly and Executive Committee full legislative and executive authority over Agriculture, Economic Development, Education, the Environment, Health and Social Services.

The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland retained responsibility for Policing, Security, Prisons, Criminal Justice, International Relations, Taxation, National Insurance, Regulation of Financial Services, Telecommunications and Broadcasting, in addition to representing the interests of the province in the Cabinet at Westminster.

The Assembly was suspended from midnight on October 14 2002, following allegations about an IRA spy-ring within Stormont that had passed information about prominent politicians to the paramilitaries. The Ulster Unionist Party threatened to pull out of power-sharing altogether if Sinn Fein was not expelled from the administration.

Before this time, the Assembly had been suspended on three other occasions because the unionist parties' refused to participate without additional reassurances about the republicans' renunciation of violence.

Elections to the Northern Ireland Assembly were held on November 26 2003, when the Ulster Unionists were surpassed by the anti-Good Friday Agreement DUP as the largest unionist party, and the SDLP surpassed by Sinn Fein as the largest nationalist party.

The St Andrews Agreement in 2006 paved the way for a transitional assembly, as the precursor for the return of devolved government in Northern Ireland.

Elections were held on March 7th, returning the DUP and Sinn Fein as the two largest parties. Party leaders Mr Paisley and Mr Adams failed to reach an agreement on power-sharing in time for the March 26th deadline set out in the St Andrew's Agreement.

However, a power-sharing agreement was decided on March 26th which would see Mr Paisley serve as first minister with the Sinn Fein's Mr McGuinness as deputy first minister. The agreement, hailed a historic by politicians was approved following emergency legislation in the House of Commons.

Devolved government was restored to the assembly on May 8th 2007 and Mr Paisley and Mr McGuinness were sworn in as ministers.


Controversies

Although the power-sharing requirements for devolved government under the Good Friday Agreement were probably essential to involve the mainstream parties representing both communities, they handed a veto on progress to those parties.

The replacement of the more moderate UUP and SDLP by the DUP and Sinn Fein as the largest parties has polarised the situation further, making a resumption of devolved government considerably harder, as the DUP formally refuses even to hold talks with Sinn Fein.


Northern Ireland Assembly Statistics

After the March 2007 election, the assembly was made up of: 38 DUP representatives, 28 Sinn Fein representatives, 18 UUP, 16 SDLP, seven Alliance representatives, one Green party representative.

The political make-up of the Northern Ireland Assembly after the November 2003 election was 30 DUP, 27 UUP, 24 SF, 18 SDLP, six Alliance, one PUP, one UKUP and one independent - hospital campaigner Kieran Deeney

The defection of Jeffrey Donaldson, Norah Beare and Arlene Foster in January 2004 to the DUP, increased that party's seats to 33, and reduced the UUP's tally to 24

At the 1998 election, the make-up was 20 DUP, 28 UUP, 18 SF, 24 SDLP, six Alliance, two PUP, two UKUP, two NIWC and three independent unionists

Statistics: (Source: Ark Northern Ireland, 2004)


Northern Ireland Assembly Quotes

"This agreement provides for a democratically elected Assembly in Northern Ireland which is inclusive in its membership, capable of exercising executive and legislative authority, and subject to safeguards to protect the rights and interests of all sides of the community."

Belfast Agreement, Strand 1, Section 1, 1998

"Participants recall their agreement in the Procedural Motion adopted on 24 September 1997 'that the resolution of the decommissioning issue is an indispensable part of the process of negotiation'."

Belfast Agreement, section on Decommissioning, 1998

"It was with very great regret that I made the Order this morning to suspend the devolved institutions, in order to stabilise the current political situation in Northern Ireland. It was clear that it was not for the time being possible to hold together an inclusive power-sharing Executive, since the confidence within the community necessary to underpin it had broken down."

John Reid, Northern Ireland Secretary, October 14 2002

"I believe Northern Ireland has come to a time of peace, a time when hate will no longer rule. How good it will be to be part of a wonderful healing in this province."

Ian Paisley, May 8th 2007.

"We know the road we are embarking on will have many twists and turns. It is, however, a road which we have chosen and which is supported by the vast majority of our supporters. In the recent elections, they have voted for a new political era based on peace and reconciliation."

Martin McGuinness, May 8th 2007.

"Look back and we see centuries marked by conflict, hardship, even hatred among the people of these islands; look forward and we see the chance to shake off those heavy chains of history."

Tony Blair, May 8th 2007.