COMMITTEE ON PROCEDURES
Minutes of Proceedings
Wednesday, 3 December 2008
Room 152, PARLIAMENT BUILDINGS
Present:
Lord Morrow (Chairperson)
Mr Mickey Brady
Mr Francie Brolly
Lord Wallace Browne
Mr Raymond McCartney
Mr David McClarty
Mr Adrian McQuillan
Mr Declan O’Loan
Mr Ken Robinson
In Attendance:
Ms Stella McArdle (Assembly Clerk)
Mr Jim Beatty (Assistant Assembly Clerk)
Ms Linda Hare (Clerical Supervisor)
Mr Diarmaid Elder (Clerical Officer)
Mr Kevin Shiels (Assembly Business Office)
Apologies:
Mr Mervyn Storey (Deputy Chairperson)
Mr Sean Neeson
The meeting opened at 2.00 pm in public session.
1. Apologies
Apologies are detailed above.
2. Draft minutes of the meeting held on 19 November 2008
Agreed: Subject to minor amendments, the draft minutes of the meeting held on 19 November 2008 were agreed.
3. Matters Arising
There were no Matters Arising.
Mr McCartney joined the meeting at 2.02pm.
4. Matters of Joint Concern – Draft Motion
The Committee noted a response from the Chairpersons Liaison Group indicating that it was content with the proposed amendments. The Committee considered the draft motion to amend Standing Orders to table in the Business Office for debate on either 19 or 20 January 2009.
Agreed: The motion was agreed.
Mr Brolly joined the meeting at 2.07pm.
5. Frequency of Meetings
Members discussed the frequency of future Committee meetings.
Agreed: Members agreed to hold monthly meetings on a trial basis and to review the issue after the Easter Recess.
6. Any Other Business
(a) Submission from OFMdFM
Members expressed concern that this letter was in the public domain before they had time to consider it. Members discussed the way forward.
Mr Robinson joined the meeting at 2.28pm.
There was a discussion on the manner in which a member of the Assembly spoke to the press about an item within the letter.
Agreed: It was agreed that the clerk would seek guidance from the clerk to the Standards and Privileges Committee.
The Chairperson proposed that the Committee should invite the Junior Ministers to the meeting on 6 January 2009. Those in favour of the motion – Lord Brown, Mr McQuillan, Mr Brady, Mr Brolly and Mr McCartney. Those against the motion – Mr O’Loan, Mr McClarty and Mr Robinson. The motion was agreed.
(b) Stormont Correspondents Association (SCA)
Members considered a memo from the SCA regarding embargoed Ministerial Statements.Agreed: It was agreed to invite the SCA to the meeting on 6 January 2009.
(c) Rota for Questions for Oral Answer
Members noted details of the rota.(d) Submission from the Speaker
The Committee considered a written submission from the Speaker on the issue of Assembly Questions.
7. Date, time and place of next meeting
The next meeting will be held on Tuesday, 6 January 2009 at 2.30 pm in Room 144 Parliament Buildings.
The Committee went into Closed Session at 2.45pm.
Lord Brown left the meeting at 2.45pm.
8. Inquiry into Assembly Questions
The Committee considered an issues paper prepared by the clerk.
Mr McCartney left the meeting at 3.03pm.
Mr McClarty left the meeting at 3.39pm.
Mr O’Loan left the meeting at 3.54pm.
Agreed: Members agreed to consult their parties on the issues and to report back to the Committee at the next meeting. It was also agreed that the clerk would write to the Party Whips with a background to the issues.
The Chairperson adjourned the meeting at 4.22 pm.