Source · Select Committees · Northern Ireland Affairs Committee
Recommendation 8
8
Acknowledged
Paragraph: 51
Strand One institutions highly unstable due to single party veto over Executive formation.
Conclusion
There is broad consensus that the Strand One institutions are unstable and prone to collapse. The current system of nomination to the positions of First Minister and Deputy First Minister gives, in effect, a single party a veto over Executive formation and thus the continued functioning of democratic government in Northern Ireland. It also prevents the proper functioning of the institutions under Strands Two and Three of the Agreement. There is also consensus that even when functioning, the threat of collapse looms large over the institutions, with a pervasive culture of dispute rather than business-like cooperation. It is also apparent that there is insufficient incentive for parties to avoid exercising their power of veto. The result is a highly temperamental system of government.
Government Response Summary
The government acknowledges the instability challenges and notes that discussions on the First Minister and Deputy First Minister nomination process are ongoing, but any significant departure from cross-community protections, like a supermajority nomination, would require extensive consultation and consideration.
Paragraph Reference:
51
Government Response
Acknowledged
HM Government
Acknowledged
The Government recognises the challenges the report highlights in balancing cross- community governance with institutional stability in Northern Ireland. The Government’s long-standing approach is to work with the locally elected parties in Northern Ireland, on the basis of cross-community consent, to make necessary changes to the governance arrangements in Northern Ireland to enable the more effective operation of the institutions. The New Decade New Approach deal of 2020 included measures to strengthen transparency and accountability. The Northern Ireland (Ministers, Elections and Petitions of Concern) Act 2022 delivered on commitments made under New Decade New Approach and addressed concerns about the operation of the Petition of Concern mechanism to reduce its use and to return it to its intended purpose as set out under the Agreement. This safeguard is intended to ensure that all communities can participate and work together successfully in the operation of the Northern Ireland institutions and are protected when the Assembly legislates, and to prevent one party from blocking measures or business. It is important that consideration of Northern Ireland’s governance arrangements continues to engage the voices that represent communities across Northern Ireland. Discussion on the titles and nomination process for First Minister and deputy First Minister has been ongoing since the St Andrews Agreement in 2006 changed the nomination process. The way the Executive operates requires the First Minister and deputy First Minister to work together, to consider and accommodate the perspectives of all communities and to compromise where disagreement may occur. The proposal to nominate the Speaker (Presiding Officer) of the Assembly and to nominate “Joint First Ministers” on a supermajority basis would, on the basis of the current sizes of the political parties, stop any single party in the Assembly from preventing these nominations going forward. However, this would also represent a significant departure from the original cross-community protections of the Agreement, which the Government believes would require significant consultation and consideration.