PROCEEDINGS OF THE COMMITTEE ON THE PREPARATION FOR GOVERNMENT

Minutes of the meeting held on Wednesday, 25 October 2006 in Room 144, Parliament Buildings.

In the Chair: Jim Wells

Present: Diane Dodds
Dr Sean Farren
David Ford
Carmel Hanna
Danny Kennedy
Kieran McCarthy
Alan McFarland
David McNarry
Alban Maginness
Conor Murphy MP
John O’Dowd
Edwin Poots
Peter Robinson MP
Caitriona Ruane

In Attendance: Nuala Dunwoody (Clerk Assistant)
Debbie Pritchard (Principal Clerk)
Christine Darrah (Assembly Clerk)
Jim Beatty (Assistant Clerk)
Pauline Hunter (Clerical Officer)

Observing: Liam Hegarty (NIO)
Ian Kerr (NIO)
Caroline Webb (OFMDFM)
Richard Bullick (DUP researcher)
Mark Neale (UUP researcher)
Ian Williamson (Alliance researcher)

The meeting commenced at 10.09am.

1. Apologies

Mark Durkan MP (Ms Hanna attended the meeting as SDLP representative in place of Mr Durkan MP)

Michelle Gildernew MP (Ms Ruane attended the meeting as SF representative in place of Ms Gildernew MP)

Naomi Long (Mr McCarthy attended as Alliance representative in place of Ms Long.)

Dr William McCrea MP (Mr Poots attended as DUP representative in palce of Dr McCrea MP.)

Dr Alasdair McDonnell MP (Mr Maginness attended as SDLP representative in place of Dr McDonnell MP.)

Martin McGuinness MP (Mr O’Dowd attended as SF representative in place of Mr McGuinness MP.)

Lord Morrow (Mr Robinson MP attended as DUP representative in place of Lord Morrow.)

Ian Paisley Jnr (Ms Dodds attended as DUP representative in place of Mr Paisley.)

2. OFMDFM Staff

It was agreed to admit an observer from the office of the First and deputy First Minister to the meeting.

3. Previous Minutes

The Committee deferred agreement of the minutes of 23 October 2006 pending receipt of the Hansard record for that day.

4. Letter to the Secretary of State

The Committee noted that no reply had been received to its letter of 18 October 2006 which requested copies of the letters and documents given to the parties at St Andrews.

Mr McFarland left the meeting at 10.19am.

5. Agreement at St Andrews – paragraphs 6 to 15 of issues in Annex A

The Committee continued with its consideration of the issues within Annex A of the St Andrews Agreement.

The Chairperson proposed that the Northern Ireland Act 1998 should be amended before 24 November 2006 to reflect para 6 of Annex A. There was not consensus and the proposal fell. Alliance (with qualifications) and DUP supported the proposal, SDLP and Sinn Fein objected and UUP abstained.

The Committee agreed to discuss paras 7 and 8 (Pledge of Office) together.

Ms Ruane joined the meeting at 11.15am.

Mr McNarry left the meeting at 11.15am.

Ms Hanna left the meeting at 11.24am.

The Chairperson proposed that para 7, as set out below, should be agreed by the Committee:-

“Ministers would be required to act in accordance with any relevant decisions of the Executive”

There was consensus and the proposal was agreed.

The Chairperson then proposed that para 7, as set out below, should be agreed by the Committee:-

“Ministers would be required to act in accordance with any relevant decisions of the Assembly”

Alliance, DUP, SDLP and Sinn Fein supported the proposal and UUP abstained.

Ms Hanna rejoined the meeting at 11.30am.

Mr McNarry rejoined the meeting at 11.30am.

The Chairperson proposed that the Committee agrees to the text within the first sentence of para 8, Annex A. There was consensus and the proposal was agreed.

Mr McCarthy left the meeting at 11.40am.

Mr Poots proposed that paras 5 and 6 of the St Andrews Agreement should be used as a template for the Pledge of Office. There was not consensus and the proposal fell. Alliance, DUP and UUP supported the proposal, Sinn Fein objected and SDLP abstained.

Dr Farren proposed that the Pledge of Office should contain a commitment to uphold the rule of law. There was not consensus and the proposal fell. The SDLP supported the proposal and Sinn Fein abstained. Alliance endorsed it as a statement of principle, the DUP felt that it was not sufficient and the UUP believed it was not comprehensive enough.

Mr McFarland rejoined the meeting at 12.05pm.

The Committee began discussions on para 9 of Annex A.

The meeting was suspended at 12.17pm.

Ms Hanna left the meeting at 12.17pm.

Mr Kennedy left the meeting at 12.17pm.

The meeting resumed at 1.03pm.

Mr Ford proposed that there should be no change to how the FM/DFM are elected. There was not consensus and the proposal fell. Alliance, SDLP, Sinn Fein and UUP supported the proposal and DUP objected.

Ms Ruane proposed that the Committee use “he/she” in relation to paras 6 and 9 of Annex A. There was not consensus and the proposal fell. Alliance, SDLP and Sinn Fein supported the proposal, UUP did not support or object and DUP held that the St Andrews Agreement was published by the 2 governments and it is not for the parties to change.

Mr Ford proposed that the mechanisms within para 9 should apply for two Assembly terms at most. There was not consensus and the proposal fell. Alliance supported the proposal, DUP, SDLP (who believed that the motion was premature), Sinn Fein and UUP objected.

Mr Ford proposed that the nominations for FM/DFM should be treated as the first and second nominations in the d’Hondt round. There was not consensus and the proposal fell. Alliance and SDLP supported the proposal and DUP, Sinn Fein and UUP objected.

The Chairperson proposed that the Northern Ireland Act 1998 should be amended before 24 November 2006 to reflect para 9 of Annex A. There was not consensus and the proposal fell. The DUP supported the proposal and Alliance, SDLP, Sinn Fein and UUP objected.

The Chairperson proposed that the Committee agrees para 10 of Annex A. There was consensus and the proposal was agreed.

The Chairperson proposed that the Northern Ireland Act 1998 should be amended before 24 November 2006 to reflect para 11 of Annex A. There was consensus and the proposal was agreed.

Mr Poots left the meeting at 1.50pm.

The Chairperson proposed that the Northern Ireland Act 1998 should be amended before 24 November 2006 to reflect para 12 of Annex A. There was not consensus and the proposal was fell. Alliance, SDLP and UUP supported the proposal, DUP objected with the requirement that an addendum be inserted and Sinn Fein abstained.

Ms Ruane left the meeting at 1.54pm.

Ms Dodds joined the meeting at 1.55pm.

The Chairperson proposed that the Committee agrees para 13 of Annex A. There was not consensus and the proposal fell. Alliance, DUP, SDLP and UUP supported the proposal (Alliance, SDLP and UUP with qualifications) and Sinn Fein abstained.

The Chairperson proposed that in accordance with para 14, the Northern Ireland Act 2000 should be repealed. There was not consensus and the proposal fell. Alliance, SDLP and Sinn Fein supported the proposal, UUP objected and DUP views are on the record.

Mr Ford proposed that the Committee wishes to see an end to the designation voting system at the earliest possible opportunity. There was not consensus and the proposal fell. Alliance, DUP and Sinn Fein supported the proposal, SDLP abstained and UUP stated ‘in due course’.

The Chairperson proposed that the Northern Ireland Act 1998 should be amended before 24 November 2006 to reflect para 15 of Annex A. There was not consensus and the proposal fell. The DUP (with an addendum), SDLP, Sinn Fein and UUP supported the proposal and Alliance abstained.

6. Other Issues

Mr Robinson proposed that there should be a mechanism to allow devolution to continue if one party defaults on its commitments. There was not consensus and the proposal fell. Alliance, DUP and UUP supported the proposal and SDLP and Sinn Fein objected.

The Committee noted the following issues in the Preparation for Government Committee reports that are not covered in the St Andrews Agreement:-

That the Speaker and Deputy Speakers should be elected by a cross-community vote

That the Committee was content with the mechanism for a petition of concern as it stands

That MLAs would continue to be elected by Single Transferable Vote (STV)

That mechanisms are needed to ensure institutional stability

In principle, certain public appointments should be brought to the Executive for endorsement

To review the ways in which civic society engages with the Assembly

The Committee agreed to set aside the issue of Ministers reporting back from NSMC meetings as the matter is covered elsewhere.

Mr Robinson proposed that before 24 November 2006, legislation would provide that the Institutional Review Committee should, within the first two terms of the Assembly, consider and decide how to evolve towards a non-mandatory system. There was not consensus and the proposal fell. Alliance, DUP and UUP supported the proposal and SDLP and Sinn Fein objected.

The meeting was suspended at 3.01pm.

The meeting resumed at 3.08pm.

Mr Poots rejoined the meeting at 3.08pm

Ms Dodds left the meeting at 3.09pm.

Dr Farren proposed that the Executive, in principle, should have the powers to call for papers and persons. There was consensus and the proposal was agreed.

7. Agreement at St Andrews – Strands 2 and 3 issues

The Chairperson proposed that the Committee agrees para 19 of Annex A. There was consensus and the proposal was agreed.

The Chairperson proposed that the Committee agrees para 20 of Annex A. There was consensus and the proposal was agreed.

The Chairperson proposed that the Committee agrees para 21 of Annex A. There was not consensus and the proposal fell. Alliance, SDLP and Sinn Fein supported the proposal and DUP and UUP objected.

The Chairperson proposed that the Committee agrees para 22 of Annex A. There was not consensus and the proposal fell. SDLP and Sinn Fein supported the proposal, Alliance supported the principle but not the wording and DUP and UUP objected.

The Chairperson proposed that the Committee agrees para 23 of Annex A. There was not consensus and the proposal fell. Alliance, DUP, SDLP and UUP supported the proposal and Sinn Fein abstained.

The Chairperson proposed that the Committee agrees para 24 of Annex A. There was not consensus and the proposal fell. The Alliance, DUP, SDLP and UUP supported the proposal and Sinn Fein abstained.

8. Next Meeting

It was agreed that the meeting planned for Thursday, 26 October 2006 should be cancelled.

The Committee will next meet at 2.30pm on Monday, 30 October 2006 in Room 144, Parliament Buildings.

The meeting adjourned at 3.57pm.