Northern Ireland (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill

Baroness Clark of Kilwinning Excerpts

Tuesday 9th July 2013 Commons Chamber

[Naomi Long]

I think—

[The Temporary Chair (Katy Clark)]

Order. I remind all hon. Members that this is a summing up at the end of a debate. We are not commencing the debate again and it is not a second speech, so I ask the hon. Lady to take that on board.

[Naomi Long]

Indeed. I was on my last sentence when I took the intervention.

I believe that the exclusion of Members of the House of Lords, the Seanad and the European Parliament from sitting in the Northern Ireland Assembly is an important point. Having listened to what the Minister said, I do not accept that there is a strong argument for maintaining the current position and I seek to press amendment 10.

Question put, That the amendment be made.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Dodds]

I beg to move amendment 4, page 6, line 37, at end add—

‘7B The alteration of the number of members of the Assembly required to express

their concern about a matter which is to be voted on by the Assembly, such

concern requiring that the vote on that matter shall require cross-community

support.

This paragraph does not include the alteration of that number to a number

exceeding 30.’.

[The Temporary Chair (Katy Clark)]

With this it will be convenient to discuss the following:

Amendment 5, page 6, line 37, at end insert—

7B The subject matter of Sections 16, 17, and 18 of this Act.

‘(2) In Schedule 2, paragraph (b) after “sections” insert “16, 17 and 18”.’.

Clause stand part.

[Mr Dodds]

The purpose of clause 6 is to move the decision on the reduction in the size of the Northern Ireland Assembly from the category of excepted matter to that of reserved matters, which I think has received reasonable assent in Northern Ireland. The purpose of amendments 4 and 5, which stand in my name and those of my right hon. and hon. Friends, is simply to move into the category of reserved matters, as opposed to excepted matters, decisions relating to the appointment of the Executive and the way it is formed. Given that the number of MLAs will be reduced, we propose that all matters pertaining to the appointment of the Executive, its composition and make-up and the way the First and Deputy First Ministers are elected, and matters pertaining to opposition in the Assembly, should also be reserved matters. We believe that this would allow any political agreement negotiated by parties in Northern Ireland to be legislated for in the Assembly. It would give the Assembly the tools not only to discuss these matters, which do need to be discussed by the parties in Northern Ireland, but to agree them, of course by cross-community vote and by the normal mechanisms that require that to happen in the Northern Ireland Assembly. That would act as a bit of an incentive to allow and promote greater debate in relation to these matters.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Donaldson]

Lest we rewrite the Second Reading debate, I wish to place it on the record that the point I made was merely that there is a precedent for extending the Assembly to five years. I am glad that the hon. Gentleman now accepts that the 1998 Assembly was extended to five years to, as he describes it, bed in. The point that I made on Second Reading and that I reiterate now is that there is a precedent for extending the life of the Assembly to five years.

[The Temporary Chair (Katy Clark)]

Order. I ask Mark Durkan to address the amendment that we are debating.

[Mark Durkan]

I will do that, Ms Clark.

On the number of Members in the Assembly, the parties seem to be agreed in principle that that can and should change. The agreement provided for a review, just as the agreement provided that the first Assembly would last for five years. The first Assembly was not extended. There was provision in the Northern Ireland Act 1998, and in the agreement, for the first Assembly to be five years, and four years thereafter. We did not agree with the date being changed.