BUSINESS COMMITTEE
TUESDAY
19 MAY
2009
IN ROOM 106, PARLIAMENT BUILDINGS
MINUTES
The meeting began at 12.35 am
Present:
The Speaker (Chairperson)
Mr T Burns
Mr F Cobain
Mr P Maskey
Lord Morrow
Mr K McCarthy
Ms C N í Chuilín
Mr P Ramsey
Present (secretariat):
Mr T Reaney, Clerk/Director General
Ms L Gordon, Clerk of Business
Mr A Murphy, Assistant Clerk of Business
In attendance:
Mr R Good, Adviser to the Speaker
Ms F Leneghan, Assistant Private Secretary to the Speaker
Observers:
Mr F Molloy Deputy Speaker
Mr G Kelly Junior Minister
Ms R Flanagan OFMDFM
1. Mi nutes of the meeting held on 12 May 2009
1.1 The minutes of the meeting held on 12 May 2009 were agreed and were signed by the Speaker.
2. Matters Arising
2.1 There were no matters arising.
3. Finalisation of Order Paper for Plenary meeting on 26 May
Private Members’ Business
3.1 Members were informed that a small change had been made to the ‘Race Relations’ motion scheduled for debate on Tuesday 26 May. Members agreed to accept the revised wording of the motion.
3.2 Mr F Cobain proposed the motion on ‘Educational Underachievement’ (B McCrea, T Elliott) to fill the vacant slot for Tuesday 26 May. Members agreed to the request.
4. Provisional arrangements for Plenary meetings in week commencing 1 June 2009
Executive Business
4.1 In addition to Question Time on Monday 1 June, members agreed to schedule the Consideration Stage of the Diseases of Animals Bill. Members further agreed to schedule the motion, tabled by the Minister for Social Development, to approve the Child Support and Social Security (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations ( Northern Ireland) 2009.
Committee Business
4.2 Members agreed to schedule the motions, tabled by the Chairperson of the Committee on Procedures, to amend Standing Orders for Assembly Questions.
Private Members’ business
4.3 Members agreed to schedule one private Members’ motion on Monday 1 June and two private Members’ motions and one adjournment topic on Tuesday 2 June. Business was considered under the system of allocating private Members’ business, with the SDLP, DUP and Sinn F é in having one slot each. The following motions were proposed to fill the three available slots:
- ‘Equal Pay Issue’ (D O’Loan, D Kelly, P Ramsey, A Maginness)
- ‘Royal Mail’ (A McQuillan, W Browne, J Shannon, G Robinson)
- ‘Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority’ (D McKay, M O’Neill, J O’Dowd)
4.4 Members therefore agreed to schedule the motion on ‘Equal Pay Issue’ (D O’Loan, D Kelly, P Ramsey, A Maginness) for Monday 1 June and the motions on ‘Royal Mail’ (A McQuillan, W Browne, J Shannon, G Robinson) and ‘Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority’ (D McKay, M O’Neill, J O’Dowd) for Tuesday 2 June. Members agreed that up to 1 hour 30 minutes should be allocated for the debate, with the usual speaking times.
4.5 Members agreed to schedule one adjournment topic on Tuesday 2 June. Members proposed a total of two adjournment topics as follows:
- ‘The impact of the falling maintenance budget on rural roads in Fermanagh and South Tyrone’ (T Gallagher)
- ‘Environmental damage caused by gold mining operations at Cavanacaw, Omagh’ (B McElduff)
4.6 A vote being called, the votes of party delegations were cast as follows:
- The impact of the falling maintenance budget on rural roads in Fermanagh and South Tyrone: 25 votes
- Environmental damage caused by gold mining operations at Cavanacaw, Omagh : 27 votes
4.7 Members therefore agreed to schedule the adjournment topic ‘Environmental damage caused by gold mining operations at Cavanacaw, Omagh’ (B McElduff) for Tuesday 26 June.
5. Any Other Business
5.1 The Speaker recommended that parties whose turn it is to select a motion might consider having more than one preferred option, in the event that a particular Minister is unavailable.
5.2 The Speaker asked Whips to ensure that enough Members will be present on Monday 8 June (European election count day) to allow Assembly business to take place as normal.
6. Date and Time of next meeting
6.1 Members agreed to meet at approximately 12.30 pm on Tuesday 26 May 2009 in Room 106.
The Speaker brought the meeting to a close at 12.50 pm.