The Northern Ireland Act 1998 provides that, unless the Assembly is dissolved early, elections should occur once every four years on the first Thursday in May. The parties only agreed to share power after four years of negotiations and a new election. The Assembly is chaired by the Speaker and three Deputy Speakers, of whom one is appointed Principal Deputy Speaker. The Assembly has both legislative powers and responsibility for electing the Northern Ireland Executive. With the reduction in the number of Assembly seats, the 8% threshold now amounts to eight rather than nine seats, qualifying Alliance to enter official opposition if they choose. In 1999 the UK Unionist Party lost four of its five MLAs, disagreeing over a protest against Sinn Féin. A law can be struck down if it is found to: A transferred matter is defined as "any matter which is not an excepted or reserved matter". Which parties can appoint ministers to the Northern Ireland Executive is determined by a combination of mandatory coalition, the D'Hondt method and cross-community support, depending on the role, as explained above. Since then the Assembly has operated intermittently and has been suspended on five occasions: Attempts to secure its operation on a permanent basis had been frustrated by disagreements between the two main unionist parties (the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) and the Ulster Unionist Party) and Sinn Féin, the largest nationalist party. Acts of the Northern Ireland Assembly as with other subordinate legislatures are subject to judicial review. Current calls for evidence are listed below: The Assembly Commission has launched a Youth Assembly to give young people a voice and an opportunity to have their say on the issues that matter to them.
The first Official Opposition was formed by the UUP in the closing months of the fourth term. An election to the then-suspended Northern Ireland Assembly was held on 7 March 2007. No public tours, events or visitor activities will take place, until further notice.
Unlike the United Kingdom Parliament and the Oireachtas (Irish Parliament), the Assembly had no provision for an official opposition to hold governing parties to account until legislation was passed in 2016. [7] The Northern Ireland (St Andrews Agreement) Act 2006 repealed the Northern Ireland Act 2006 and thus disbanded "the Assembly". The Assembly is dissolved shortly before the holding of elections on a day chosen by the Secretary of State. Assembly business continues, check the business diary for information on Plenary and Committee meetings.
[37] The constituencies used are the same as those used for elections to the United Kingdom Parliament at Westminster.[38][39]. In 1982 another Northern Ireland Assembly was established at Stormont, initially as a body to scrutinise the actions of the Secretary of State, the British minister with responsibility for Northern Ireland. Vacancies between Assembly elections are filled by co-option. Read the featured news on legislation, committee inquiries, research and more from the Northern Ireland Assembly. However, this body was brought down by the Ulster Workers' Council strike and was abolished in 1974. If you are - aged 13-17 years old or know someone who is? The subsequent period was dominated by issues of culture and dealing with the past which culminated in the Fresh Start Agreement of 2014. The centrist Alliance party secured the roles of Speaker from 1998 to 2007 and Minister of Justice from 2010 to 2016 ( and again from 11 January 2020) thanks to cross-community support, and has seen an increase in its seat wins from 6 to 8. It has power to legislate in a wide range of areas that are not explicitly reserved to the Parliament of the United Kingdom, and to appoint the Northern Ireland Executive. Interested in democracy? The Assembly, already suspended, dissolved on 28 April 2003 as scheduled, but the elections due the following month were postponed by the United Kingdom government and were not held until November that year. The four formed the NI Unionist Party, which again suffered a split and won no seats in the 2003 election. Each has an effective veto over legislation for its region. We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. Assembly Committees examine Bills put forward by government Departments and hold inquiries on issues that are important to everyone in Northern Ireland. [8] It was dissolved on 30 January 2007 when the election campaign for the current Northern Ireland Assembly started. This method is also used for the seats chosen by election in the upper house, Seanad Éireann. The Northern Ireland Assembly (Irish: Tionól Thuaisceart Éireann; Ulster-Scots: Norlin Airlan Assemblie), frequently referred to by the metonym Stormont (and incorrectly as Stormont Castle), is the devolved legislature of Northern Ireland. To this end a new parliament, the Northern Ireland Assembly, was established in 1973. Eileen Bell was appointed by the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Peter Hain to be the Speaker of the Assembly, with Francie Molloy and Jim Wells acting as deputies. The position is currently held by the Sinn Féin MLA Alex Maskey. Under the Assembly Members (Reduction of Numbers) Act (Northern Ireland) 2016[36] the number of MLAs per constituency was reduced from 6 to 5, leaving a total of 90 seats. [60][61] His seat remained vacant until the 2007 Northern Ireland Assembly election. Secretary of State, Peter Hain signed a restoration order on 25 March 2007 allowing for the restoration of devolution at midnight on the following day. Following the election of the fifth Assembly in 2016, only the DUP and Sinn Féin took the seats they were entitled to in the fourth Executive[12], with Arlene Foster as First Minister and Martin McGuinness as deputy First Minister. Members elected Peter Robinson of the DUP as First Minister and Martin McGuinness as deputy First Minister. The table below details changes in members' allegiances and parties' seat possessions. Find out more... 2020-21 UKRI PhD Policy Internships Scheme – Open call for applications from PhD students. Disagreements within the Executive precipitated the resignation of the UUP in 2015,[45] and following the 2016 election they and the SDLP formed the first Assembly Opposition. The Assembly has three primary mechanisms to ensure effective power-sharing: The Assembly has the power to call for witnesses and documents, if the relevant responsibility has been transferred to its remit. The Parliament was suspended on 30 March 1972 and formally abolished in 1973 under the Northern Ireland Constitution Act 1973.
When Sinn Féin MLA Michael Ferguson died in September 2006, no substitutes were available. The Northern Ireland (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2014 was passed to bring the Northern Ireland Assembly into line with the other devolved legislatures and to extend each Assembly term to five years instead of four.
The Greens have retained their two seats and the TUV and Claire Sugden their single seats, while People Before Profit now hold only one seat. Live proceedings from the Northern Ireland Assembly can be watched on desktop, mobile and tablet and is supported on most up-to-date browsers. At the 2003 election, the DUP and Sinn Féin displaced the more moderate UUP and SDLP as the largest parties in the unionist and nationalist blocks.
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