New Structures of Government in the North

1
New Structures of Government in the North

• Reading
• Tonge (2002) ch. 6 on the new institutions. Ch.14
  on the Good Friday Agreement
• Coakley and Gallagher (2005) ch.15
• Dixon (2001) NI the politics of war and peace,
  ch.10

2
Defining consociationalism

• Institutional measures designed to protect or
  ensure fairness to minorities in deeply divided
  societies
• Dictionary of the Social Sciences
• Oxford University Press www.oxfordreference.com
• Its key contention is that divided territories,
  be they regions or states, with historically
  antagonistic ethnically, religiously or
  linguistically divided peoples, are effectively,
  prudently, and sometimes optimally, governed
  according to consociational principles
• John McGarry and Brendan O'Leary (2006)
  Consociational Theory, Northern Ireland's
  Conflict, and its Agreement. Part 1 What
  Consociationalists Can Learn from Northern
  Ireland. Government and Opposition, 41, p.43-.

3
Arend Lijpharts theory of consociationalism

• The Netherlands (pillars), Switzerland, Belgium
• Elite co-operation in divided societies
• Grand coalition
• Mutual veto
• Proportionality
• Segmental autonomy
• Overarching sense of loyalty a problem in
  Northern Ireland
• The case of Lebanon
• McGarry and OLeary the role of external states

4
The Good Friday Agreement

• The Belfast Agreement / The British-Irish
  Agreement
• Two aspects to the agreement Conflict
  Resolution and new structures for government
• A three-stranded process, a three-stranded
  agreement
• The peace process a long and tortuous path
• The surrender process Unionist opposition
• An agreement with an all-Ireland mandate
• An agreement that lays down requirements for any
  united Irish state that might emerge

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ARTICLE 1

• The two Governments
• recognise the legitimacy of whatever choice is
  freely exercised by a majority of the people of
  Northern Ireland with regard to its status,
  whether they prefer to continue to support the
  Union with Great Britain or a sovereign united
  Ireland

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• (v) affirm that whatever choice is freely
  exercised by a majority of the people of Northern
  Ireland, the power of the sovereign government
  with jurisdiction there shall be exercised with
  rigorous impartiality on behalf of all the people
  in the diversity of their identities and
  traditions and shall be founded on the principles
  of full respect for, and equality of, civil,
  political, social and cultural rights, of freedom
  from discrimination for all citizens, and of
  parity of esteem and of just and equal treatment
  for the identity, ethos and aspirations of both
  communities

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• (vi) recognise the birthright of all the people
  of Northern Ireland to identify themselves and be
  accepted as Irish or British, or both, as they
  may so choose, and accordingly confirm that their
  right to hold both British and Irish citizenship
  is accepted by both Governments and would not be
  affected by any future change in the status of
  Northern Ireland

8
Why the Agreement was signed

• A declining Unionist majority
• The failure of the IRAs Long War
• Britains desire to end direct rule, to end the
  security problem and to improve relations with
  the Republic of Ireland
• The decline of traditional nationalism in the
  Republic of Ireland

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10
The Northern Executive 1

• Office of the First Minister and the Deputy First
  Minister
• Jointly elected into office on the basis of
  parallel consent
• Executive Committee 10 Ministers selected under
  the DHondt system

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The Northern Executive 2

• Ten Departments, among them
• Agriculture and Rural Development
• Environment
• Regional Development
• Finance and Personnel
• Culture, Arts and Leisure
• Education
• Higher and Further Education

12
Consociationalism in the Northern Ireland Assembly

• Assembly members (MLAs) designate themselves as
  nationalist, unionist or other
• Key decisions are made on a cross-community basis
• Parallel consent a majority of MLAs and a
  majority of both unionist and nationalist MLAs
• Weighted majority 60 of MLAs, including at
  least 40 of both unionist and nationalist MLAs
• Most decisions made by simple majority vote

13
Committees

• Committees scrutinise departments and can
  initiate legislation
• Chairs and deputy chairs of the committees are
  allocated proportionately, using the DHondt
  system
• Committee membership to be proportional to party
  strength in the assembly

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15
All-Ireland Implementation Bodies

• Inland Waterways
• Food Safety
• Trade and Business Development
• Special EU Programmes
• Language (Irish and Ulster Scots)
• Aquaculture and Marine Matters

16
Areas of North South Co-operation

• Transport
• Agriculture
• Education
• Health
• Environment
• Tourism

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North South Ministerial Council 1

• Meets in plenary format twice a year, bringing
  together all members of both governments
• Individual ministers meet one-to-one on a regular
  basis and can propose any matter for
  consideration
• Ministers from the Irish Government and the
  Northern Ireland Executive must participate
• Based in Armagh

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North South Ministerial Council 2

• The Council
• to use best endeavours to reach agreement on the
  adoption of common policies, in areas where there
  is a mutual cross-border and all-island benefit
  making determined efforts to overcome any
  disagreements

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Direct Rule from London, 1972 - 1999
Secretary of State for N.I 4 junior ministers
from GB N.I. Government Departments (Education,
Health, Finance, etc.)
The Northern Ireland Office
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The NI Executive, 1999
Secretary of State for N.I First Minister and
Deputy First Minister The Northern Ireland
Executive N.I. Government Departments (Educatio
n, Health, Finance etc.)
The Northern Ireland Office
21
British-Irish Council

• Representatives of the following governments and
  administrations
• British
• Irish
• Northern Ireland
• Scotland
• Wales
• Isle of man
• Channel isles
• Summit meeting twice a year
• Ministers meet regularly

22
Civic Forum

• 60 members and a chairperson
• Balanced by gender, age, community, area
• Representatives from various sectors including
  business, voluntary and community, trade union,
  church, arts, sports, victims

23
A Historic Compromise ?

• Republicans and Nationalists accept
• ? British sovereignty, and the principle of
  consent
• ? Devolved Government
• ? Decommissioning
• ? Unionism as a legitimate stance

24
Unionists and Loyalists accept

• Cross-border bodies
• Power-sharing, with Republicans in government
• Prisoner releases
• Reform of the police

25
A fair and final settlement?

• An unworkable system?
• Sectarian structures?
• A corruption of democracy?
• An interim system?
• The only show in town?

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• Part of Article 2 of the amended Irish
  constitution
• It is the entitlement and birthright of every
  person born in the island of Ireland, which
  includes its islands and seas, to be part of the
  Irish nation . .

27
Peter Hain, Secretary of State for Northern
Ireland and Wales, November 2005.

• In future decades, it is going to be increasingly
  difficult to look at the economy of north and
  south except as a sort of island of Ireland
  economy. We are deepening north-south cooperation
  in a number of areas. The Northern Ireland
  economy, though it is doing better than ever in
  its history, is not sustainable in the long-term.
  I dont want the Northern Ireland economy to be a
  dependent economy as it is now, with a sort of
  UK, big brother umbrella over it. It needs to
  be much more self-sufficient, so thats what
  were trying to do.

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Changing relations between Britain and Ireland

• January 2000 quote from Peter Mandelson, then
  Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
• As far as we can see, the Good Friday Agreement
  is the end settlement. It enshrines the principle
  of consent - that is the cornerstone of the new
  dispensation. At the same time I would like to
  see relations between North and South deepen. So
  many of our economic interests coincide, and in
  certain economic respects the Border is becoming
  less visible