Northern Ireland Assembly News, William Hay MLA

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The Speaker, William Hay MLA and the Ceann Comhairle, Seán Barrett TD have announced the establishment of the North/South Inter-Parliamentary Association. For the past number of years and, in particular, since an initial all-party Conference in October 2010, work has been progressing on the establishment of a North/South Inter-Parliamentary Association through Working Groups in the Northern Ireland Assembly and the Houses of the Oireachtas. The Working Groups have been meeting to discuss issues of mutual interest to MLAs and TDs /Senators. At a joint meeting of the Working Groups in Parliament Buildings today, it was agreed that the North/South Inter-Parliamentary Association be established. The Association will have 48 members, plus two Co-Chairs, with membership drawn in equal numbers from the Northern Ireland Assembly and the Houses of the Oireachtas.   It will meet twice annually on a rotational basis with the Agenda being agreed by an Executive Committee comprised of the two current Working Groups.  The Speaker of the Northern Ireland Assembly, William Hay MLA, has been elected as the Assembly’s first Co-Chair of the Association by its representatives on the Executive Committee, and the Ceann Comhairle, Seán Barrett TD, has been elected as the first Co-Chair on behalf of the Oireachtas Members on the Association’s Executive Committee. The Speaker, William Hay MLA welcomed the establishment of the Association: “I am pleased to join the Ceann Comhairle today in announcing the formation of the North South Inter-Parliamentary Association.  The Association, which has been agreed by all five main political parties in the Assembly, will provide a platform for the natural engagement between neighbouring legislatures and builds on the regular contact which already exists between Committees of each Institution. I welcome the fact that the Association’s work will be supported by the existing Secretariats of the Northern Ireland Assembly and the Houses of the Oireachtas ensuring that it will involve minimal costs. The work to set up an Association has been on-going for a period of time and I would like to thank the Ceann Comhairle, Seán Barrett TD for the positive relationship we have had and the members of the Working Groups for the constructive efforts and discussions they have had to reach this point.” The Ceann Comhairle, Seán Barrett TD, also welcomed the establishment of the Association: “Today marks a very significant day for the Members of the Houses of the Oireachtas and of the Northern Ireland Assembly.  It is a day on which representatives of all the main political parties North and South have agreed to establish a shared formal mechanism for regular and direct discussion and engagement with a view to finding ways, through North/South co-operation, of improving the lives of the people we represent.  The North/South Inter-Parliamentary Association will be parliamentarian-led and parliamentarian-focussed.   It will be about building relationships and sharing ideas among Assembly and Oireachtas Members to address issues of common interest and concern, as envisaged in the Good Friday/Belfast and St. Andrew’s Agreements. “I want to commend William Hay MLA, Speaker of the Northern Ireland Assembly, for his leadership and vision towards the establishment of the North/South Inter-Parliamentary Association.  I am delighted that my offer, on behalf of the Houses of the Oireachtas, that the first Plenary Meeting of the North/South Inter-Parliamentary Association take place in Dublin on 12 October 2012 has been accepted and agreed.” 

Concerns Raised Over Former Military Sites Posted: 04 Jul 2012 04:08 AM PDTIn a <a href="/Templates/NIA/Pages/ReportPage.aspx?id=11653">report published today the Assembly Public Accounts Committee has raised concerns over the regeneration and redevelopment of six former military and security sites that were gifted in 2003 to the Office of the First Minister/deputy First Minister (OFMDFM). The Report showed that OFMDFM has spent £62 million to date preparing the sites for redevelopment by either private companies or government bodies. Speaking at the launch of the report entitled The Transfer of Former Military and Security Sites to the Northern Ireland Executive, Committee Deputy Chairperson, Joe Byrne MLA, said: “Regenerating sites such as those at the Maze/Long Kesh, Ebrington Barracks and Crumlin Road Gaol is a long term process; however, progress on their economic and social redevelopment has been disappointingly slow. <span style="text-decoration: line-through;">&nbsp;</span> “In terms of sites released for private development, the Committee had particular concerns about the sale of the Malone Barracks. The Department could have received far more than the £3.8 million actually realised, had it received better advice from Land and Property Services (LPS) and had it not rushed into selling this valuable site. “Perhaps the most unsettling fact was that neither the Department nor LPS were aware that the purchaser of the Malone Road site was acting on behalf of another developer. It was only following the Audit Office and Committee’s investigations that the Department became aware that the site was immediately transferred to a second developer on the day it was sold.” “We have serious concerns with the use of an informal unconditional bidding process in the sale of the Malone site. We are very clear that sales of land and buildings should be conducted through sealed bids opened in the presence of public sector officials representing the Department or public body disposing of the asset. The sale process must be both transparent and well documented.” The Committee was also concerned the Department could not make use of the £870,000 achieved from the sale of the Magherafelt site to the North Eastern Education and Library Board (NEELB); and it is alarmed that the Department is unable to definitively state that the £870,000 has not been lost to the Northern Ireland taxpayer. Mr Byrne concluded: “The Committee is encouraged by the new strategic oversight arrangements that have been put in place by the Department which should improve communications between the various Departments and public bodies responsible for taking forward the regeneration of the sites. However, it is important that the substantial investment to transform these former military and security sites results in them becoming a long-term asset for local communities. Continued participation from these communities and their representatives is an essential element of this.”

Radical Changes Needed to Improve Services for Victims and Witnesses of Crime Posted: 04 Jul 2012 01:37 AM PDTMuch more needs to be done to redress the balance in the criminal justice system and treat victims and witnesses of crime in an appropriate manner. That is the message from the Committee for Justice in its report published &nbsp;today into the Criminal Justice Services available to victims and witnesses of crime. Launching the Report, Chairman of the Committee, Paul Givan MLA said: “Having spoken to a wide range of organisations and individuals&nbsp; it is clear that victims and witnesses of crime face significant difficulties and their experience of the criminal justice system is often frustrating, demoralising and on occasions devastating. “The Committee has made 30 wide-ranging recommendations which address the key issues and will greatly improve the service and support for victims and witnesses of crime at a time when they need it most.” He added: “The Department of Justice is currently developing a new five year strategy. This will provide the opportunity to make the substantial changes required and the Committee expects the Minister of Justice to take forward our recommendations as part of the strategy.” Key recommendations contained in the Report include the establishment of a Victim and Witness Charter providing statutory entitlements, mandatory training for all staff who interact with victims and witnesses, the introduction of Witness Care Units as the single point of contact for as much of the process as possible, the introduction of a minimum waiting time for witnesses and a statutory case management system to help ensure cases are dealt with as swiftly as possible. Other recommendations cover the need for better communications with victims and witnesses, accountability mechanisms to measure services provided to victims and witnesses and improvements to the physical environment available within courthouses.