Recommendation 18

We note with interest various proposals for reforming the broader system of Executive formation. We believe that there is scope for a system which will allow The effectiveness of the institutions of the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement 77 for greater cohesiveness within a coalition but are acutely aware of the potential drawbacks of departing from ‘mandatory’ coalition as we currently see under d’Hondt. While mandatory coalitions can be unwieldy and impede the development and implementation of an Executive’s agenda, we consider it more important to Northern Ireland’s political stability in the short term to at least have an Executive in place in the first instance—hence our previous recommendation to broaden the criteria through which First Ministers can be appointed, without whom no further ministerial portfolios can be allocated. As such, we recommend that the Government incorporates into the Review a full evaluation of how the present system of Executive formation might be reformed to increase coalition cohesiveness while maintaining cross-community representation.