BRITISH-IRISH INTER-PARLIAMENTARY BODY COMHLACHT IDIR-PHARLAIMINTEACH NA BREATAINE AGUS NA hĒIREANN ELEVENTH ANNUAL REPORT 2006 No. 123 March 2007 1 CONTENTS Introduction…………………………………………………………………………….3 Membership of the Body………………………………………………………………3 Political developments……………………………………………………………… 3 The work of the Body………………………………………………………………… 7 Thirty-second Plenary……………………………………………………………… 7 Thirty-third Plenary………………………………………………………………… .9 Steering Committee………………………………………………………………… 12 Committees…………………………………………………………………………… 12 Staffing………………………………………………………………………………… 13 Prospects for 2007…………………………………………………………………… 13 APPENDIX 1: Membership of the Body……………………………………14 APPENDIX 2: Reports and other documents approved by the Body………19 APPENDIX 3: Work of Committees……………………………………… 21 Committee A…………………………………………………………… Committee B…………………………………………………………… Committee C…………………………………………………………… Committee D…………………………………………………………… APPENDIX 4: Staff of the Body…………………………………………… 25 2 BRITISH-IRISH INTER-PARLIAMENTARY BODY COMHLACHT IDIR-PHARLAIMINTEACH NA BRETAINE AGUS NA hĒIREANN ELEVENTH ANNUAL REPORT THE WORK OF THE BRITISH-IRISH INTER-PARLIAMENTARY BODY Introduction 1. This is the eleventh Annual Report of the Body since it was decided at the 11th Plenary Session in May 1996 that such a Report should be made. This Report summarises the work of the Body during 2006. Membership of the Body 2. There were a number of changes to membership of the Body in the course of the year, and these can be followed in Appensix 1 to this report. The saddest was the death of Mrs Margaret Ewing, MSP,a serving Member of the Body, to whom tributes were paid at the spring plenary session. Mr Steve Rodan, SHK, replaced Mr Tony Brown as the member from the Tynwald following Mr Tony Brown’s appointment as Chief Minister. The Body congratulates Mr Brown. Political Developments General 3. 2006 was an intensive period for the peace process, which culminated in the St Andrew’s Agreement in October. 4. The year began with the Taoiseach and Prime Minister Blair meeting in Farmleigh, Dublin on 26 January to consider the way ahead in relation to Northern Ireland. A joint statement, issued after the meeting, emphasised that while Northern Ireland had experienced a period of unprecedented peace, prosperity and growth, it could not afford either complacency or prolonged stalemate. The Taoiseach and Prime Minster stated that 2006 would be a decisive year for the process and announced that talks would begin on 6 February with the aim of setting out the arrangements and timetable for restoring the devolved institutions as soon as possible. They called on all the parties to take the necessary steps to allow trust and confidence to be rebuilt and said that it was time for the parties to engage in a collective discussion. 3 5. On 24 January, Dr Ian Paisley met with Prime Minister Blair in Downing Street to present DUP proposals for a return to devolution, which stopped short of a power- sharing executive involving Sinn Féin. These proposals were published in a sixteen page document “Facing Reality” on 31 January. 6. The talks which took place in February with the Northern Ireland political parties typically involved a series of consecutive meetings between each of the parties and the two Governments. Through these talks the two Governments sought to put in place an inclusive process involving all the parties. The meetings focussed on addressing issues arising out of the operation of the devolved institutions, including possible legislative change across the three strands. In parallel, some of the parties (including DUP, Ulster Unionist Party-DUP- and Social Democratic and Labour Party- SDLP) submitted proposals to the Governments for institutional arrangements which could, in their view, constitute a transition to full devolution or otherwise operate on a contingency basis. 7. The Taoiseach and Prime Minister Blair met in Armagh on 6 April and issued a Joint Statement which outlined plans to recall the Northern Ireland Assembly on 15th May with a view to working towards a fully functioning Executive and Assembly in 2006. 8. On 10 April, the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Mr Peter Hain, announced that he was appointing the former Alliance Party deputy leader, Ms Eileen Bell, as Presiding Officer (Speaker) of the Assembly. 9. Emergency legislation (the Northern Ireland Bill 2006) to facilitate the recall of the NI Assembly on 15 May was discussed in the House of Commons on 27 and 28 April and became law on 8 May. 10. When the Taoiseach and Prime Minister Blair announced in Armagh on 6 April that the Assembly would be recalled, it was not clear whether or not all the parties would agree to participate. At its first meeting on 15 May, however, all 108 MLAs (Members of the Legislative Assembly), elected in November 2003, formally took their seats, which in itself was a significant achievement. 11. On 15 May, the MLAs were also required to sign the roll and indicate their community designation (nationalist, unionist or other.) Most media coverage of the first meeting focussed on the agreement that Mr David Ervine, leader of the Progressive Unionist Party (PUP), would join with UUP members to form the UUP Assembly Group, bringing the Group’s total complement of MLAs to 25. This would be sufficient to grant them a third Ministerial seat in the event of the formation of an Executive. 12. Further meetings of the Assembly took place on 16, 22 and 23 May. On 16 May MLAs heard a presentation at Stormont on the economy from a group of Northern Ireland business people. This was followed by a debate on economic issues in the Assembly Chamber. Sinn Féin attended and spoke at the presentation in the morning but did not participate in the afternoon debate. 4 13. On 22 May initial efforts to elect a First and Deputy First Minister were unsuccessful when DUP leader Dr Ian Paisley rejected Sinn Féin’s nomination to be First Minister. On 23 May, Secretary of State Hain announced plans for the establishment of a Committee of the Assembly on necessary business relating to preparation for Government. The task of the committee was to scope the work which, in the view of the parties needed to be done in preparation for government in advance of further intensive talks between the parties and the two Governments envisaged before the summer break. The Secretary of State asked the Assembly’s speaker, Ms Eileen Bell, to convene the first meeting of the committee on 6 June. 14. At a meeting of the British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference (BIIGC) in Hillsborough on 25 July 2006 Mr. Peter Hain, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland and Mr. Dermot Ahern, the Minister for Foreign Affairs urged the political parties to use the period up to 24 November to engage constructively, and in good faith, on those issues which need to be agreed before the devolved institutions could be restored. The Conference also noted that work was going on to prepare the new partnership arrangements which will need to be put in place to bring forward full implementation of the Agreement in the event that the parties are unable to share power. The Preparation for Government Committee 15. Overall there was a good engagement in the Preparation for Government Committee over the summer period particularly in the economic sub-group. The sub-group presented its first report on 12 September which reflected the large degree of consensus that existed between the parties on the economic challenges and how to address them. It recommended that any economic package accompanying a restoration of devolution should focus on community regeneration, infrastructure development, education and skills as well as tax incentives. 16. Over the late summer period Sinn Fein gave positive signals that it would move forward with endorsement of policing and 'full-bodied' participation under certain conditions. Sinn Fein said it would call a special Ard Fheis if agreement was found on working political institutions at Stormont, including agreement on a new Policing and Justice Department, the powers to be transferred and the timeframe. The 2006 marching season 17. The 2006 Marching season was the most trouble-free in many years, with no significant incidents. Huge efforts were made by the nationalist side to steward and manage protests, including through close coordination with the PSNI. Autumn 2006 18. The autumn period brought renewed efforts by both Governments. Minister Ahern met with Secretary of State Hain in Dundalk on 12 September. The Taoiseach met Prime Minister Blair at Chequers on 15 September to discuss how to encourage the parties to engage constructively in the weeks that followed. 5 The St Andrew’s Agreement 19. The Taoiseach and Prime Minister Blair hosted intensive talks with the political parties at St. Andrews in Scotland from 11-13 October, with the aim of resolving outstanding issues and reaching agreement on full restoration of the political institutions. Following publication of the Agreement, the Governments asked the parties to consult their membership as appropriate and to confirm their acceptance of the proposals by 10 November to allow for nomination of the First and Deputy First Minister on 24 November, and for restoration of the Executive. 20. The first meeting of the new Programme for Government Committee scheduled for the 17 October was postponed due to a disagreement over the Ministerial pledge of office. Sinn Fein carried out consultations on the St Andrew’s deal and held more than 60 meetings with local groups to discuss the St Andrew’s Agreement. The Sinn Fein Ard Comhairle met on 19 October and again on 6 November. Speaking after the meeting on 6 November, Gerry Adams said the “meeting has mandated the party leadership to follow the course set out at St. Andrews”. The Governments welcomed Sinn Féin’s response to the St. Andrews Agreement. The DUP consulted its constituency base including community leaders and produced a consultation document. 21. The British Government introduced legislation at Westminster to reflect the agreement at St Andrews on certain operational matters relating to the institutions.