NI Assembly: Does it work?

With the Northern Ireland Assembly again on the brink of collapse, BBC News Online's Dominic Casciani looks at what it has done for ordinary people.

Devolution to Northern Ireland came shortly after the Labour government in London created the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh and the National Assembly for Wales in Cardiff.

In Northern Ireland, security has remained in the hands of the secretary of state, but the power-sharing body at Stormont has wide legislative powers over myriad areas of life, principally education, health, agriculture, environment, employment and social and economic development.

For three decades, Northern Ireland Office civil servants performed those functions, leading to the so-called democratic deficit at the heart of public life.

But has the assembly and other institutions delivered a democratic dividend?

When the 12 ministers from the four parties first sat down together in 1999 they were charged with two initial goals for the administration:

Agree a programme for government

Agree and distribute departmental budgets So how have the ministers discharged their duties?

One of the real winners has been the leader-designate of the nationalist SDLP Mark Durkan.

Early on he won the trust of all parties with his handling of the budget and negotiations with the Treasury.

From day one, unionists regarded the appointment of Sinn Fein's Martin McGuinness to education as controversial. One of his first major decisions was to scrap school league tables.

But he has also tackled the 11-plus, a long-standing source of grievance which NIO civil servants had not addressed during direct rule.

Mr McGuinness's decision is due on 15 October - something that will be kicked in to the long grass if the institutions collapse.

Health trouble

His party colleague holding the health portfolio, Bairbre de Brun, has had a more difficult ride.

NI Assembly facts

108 members

12 ministers

21 Acts passed

1998: Formally created

Nov 1999: Established

Feb 2000: Suspended

May 2000: Resumed work

Her decision over the location of Belfast's maternity hospital led to accusations that she chose a site better suited to her constituent's needs than the city's.

Northern Ireland also has some of the worst waiting lists and illness rates in the UK, and the minister has been under pressure to make inroads.

The anti-Agreement Democratic Unionists have continued to hold two ministerial posts despite officially refusing to sit in the executive with Sinn Fein.

Peter Robinson and Nigel Dodds initially held Regional Development and Social Development. Many observers regarded them as being not only capable, but also thoroughly enjoying the role.

But their party also complains of a lack of collective responsibility within the executive because the ministers can theoretically set policy irrespective of key agreed goals.

The party's critics say the DUP has not helped that situation by officially refusing to sit in the executive with Sinn Fein.

By far the most popular decision has been to introduce free public transport for pensioners but this became mired in a minor behind-the-scenes row over which minister should take the credit.

Success or failure?

Dr Rick Wilford of Queen's University in Belfast said that there were many problems with the assembly, but it had pulled off two significant achievements.

There is no social contract between the politicians and the community - political difficulties and events beyond Stormont intrude

Dr Rick Wilford

"Mark Durkan's capacity to get ministers to agree a Budget has been quite commendable," said Dr Wilford.

"Indeed, the capacity of the ministers to put together a Programme for Government, given the inherent structural flaws of the assembly's mechanisms, has been quite remarkable."

However, Dr Wilford said that he doubted whether many of the members (MLAs) were capable of the role.

"The committees have taken their time to find their feet," he said. "In many cases the chairs of committees have not made the most of their role in scrutinising departments.

Tribal politics

The assembly's flaws were being compounded by the tribal nature of Northern Ireland's parties where allegiances are more important than policy decisions, he added.

Critics say that this is most obvious in the office of first minister and deputy first minister, posts held by the UUP and SDLP.

Not only do the two largest parties hold these posts, they also dominate the committee charged with scrutinising the work of these two senior ministers.

"Part of the problem is that Northern Ireland's parties are so dominated by their leaders that they really have no role for the backbencher," said Dr Wilford.

"Many of the MLAs must unlearn a lot of what they consider to be their identity and party interests.

"There is no social contract between the politicians and the community. Political difficulties and events beyond Stormont intrude and we see sectarian point after point being made in debates."

Openness and public awareness

Dr Liz Fawcett of the University of Ulster has been monitoring the media and public awareness impact of the assembly.

It's arguable that there has been a real lack of confidence among MLAs because they do not want the public to think that they are ignorant

Dr Liz Fawcett

She attacked Stormont for excessive secrecy after finding that a large proportion of committee hearings were behind closed doors.

Her findings caused a media storm and, anecdotally, appear to have needled committees into being more open.

"While Scotland and Wales have been committed to openness from the word go, this has not happened at Stormont," said Dr Fawcett.

"It's arguable that there has been a real lack of confidence among MLAs because they do not want the public to think that they are ignorant."

Dr Fawcett identified the role of the presiding officer, Stormont's equivalent of the House of Commons speaker, as problematic.

The current holder, Lord Alderdice of the Alliance Party, has adopted a policy of not talking to the media because of the political necessity to be seen as impartial.

This decision and others such as the lack of publicly available information on the assembly's website or elsewhere, Dr Fawcett argues, has not helped public awareness.

"People don't fully realise the democratic potential of the system," she said.

"There's a degree of haziness of the role of the assembly which has been compounded after an initial novelty value wore off."

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You can download Dr Wilford's research into the assembly's workings, carried out in conjunction with Democratic Dialogue, from the internet link on the right hand side.