Minutes of Proceedings
Session: 2009/2010
Date: 15 September 2009
Venue: Room 21
The meeting opened at 11.10am.
1.Apologies
There were no apologies.
2. Minutes of Proceedings of meeting held on 29 June 2009
Members agreed the Minutes of Proceedings of the meeting held on 29 June 2009.
3. Matters Arising
There were no matters arising.
4. Northern Ireland Legal Service Commission Funding Code Consultation
Members noted the consultation paper.
Agreed: The Committee agreed that no action was required by the Committee but that individual Parties may decide to respond.
5. Multiple Mandates – Dawn Purvis MLA, Private Members Bill
Members noted the proposal for a Private Members Bill, by Dawn Purvis.
Agreed: The Committee agreed that Committee staff should carry out some preparatory work on Dual Mandates.
Agreed: The Committee agreed not to make any formal response to Ms Purvis.
6. Correspondence – outgoing/incoming
Members noted outgoing correspondence.
Members noted the letter of 20 August 2009 from the Minister of Justice, Equality and Law Reform in relation to their meeting with him on 25 June 2009. In particular, Members noted paragraph 4 of the letter explaining that Committees of the Oireachtas do not normally question the Garda Commissioner and the Minister of Justice, Equality and Law Reform on issues of National Security: that operational matters are the responsibility of the Garda Commissioner, and that policy is the responsibility of the Minister.
11:20 am Mr Dodds joined the meeting.
The Chairperson welcomed Mr Dodds to the meeting as a new Member of the Committee.
In relation to the remit of the Committee, Mr Dodds declared his interests.
- Member of Parliament for North Belfast
- Member of Belfast City Council
Agreed: The Committee agreed to write to Nelson McCausland, to thank him for his contribution to the Committee and to wish him well in his new role as the Minister for Culture, Arts and Leisure.
Members noted a letter from the First Minister and deputy First Minister about the Efficiency Review Panel.
Members noted a letter from the Northern Ireland Policing Board about efficiency savings.
Agreed: The Committee agreed to forward the letter from the Northern Ireland Policing Board to the Specialist Adviser.
7. Draft Department of Justice Bill
Members noted that the Second Stage of the Bill on 22 September 2009 coincided with the Committees next meeting.
Agreed: The Committee agreed to change the time of its next meeting 10:00 am on 22 September 2009 to enable members to participate in the Plenary debate.
11:31 am Mr Maskey joined the meeting.
8. Devolution of Policing and Justice
Committee Briefing Paper 11/08/09 – Sixteenth Revision – Consideration of the Category Two List of Issues
In relation to the issue of the devolution of policing and justice matters, the Chairperson declared the following interests:
- Member of the Northern Ireland Policing Board
The Chairperson invited Members to declare their relevant interests.
Members declared the following interests:
Alex Attwood
- Member of Belfast District Policing Partnership
Alex Maskey
- Member of the Northern Ireland Policing Board
Ian Paisley Jnr
- Member of the Northern Ireland Policing Board
There was a general discussion about the devolution of policing and justice matters.
Agreed: The Committee agreed to invite the Specialist Adviser to present his latest report to the Committee, in closed session, on 29 September 2009.
Agreed: The Committee agreed to write to the Secretary of State seeking an update on a number of issues:
- The Heywood Report
- The proportion of the Northern Ireland Office budget which would transfer at the point of devolution together with details of the amount required to fund the Northern Ireland Office.
- Update on the Ashdown Report
- The Memoranda of Understanding
Agreed: The Committee also agreed to write to OFMDFM seeking an update on a number of issues:
- The role of the Attorney General.
- An update on the negotiations to secure sufficient funding for the devolution of policing and justice powers.
Agreed: The Committee agreed to write to the Public Prosecution Service (PPS) to seek his view on item G of the Category Two list regarding what Department the PPS should be part of .
Members indicated that they had nothing further to report in relation to the Category Two List of Issues.
Agreed: The SDLP indicated that the Committee agreed to schedule a specific discussion on the Public Prosecution Service into a future meeting at which a paper from the SDLP would be discussed.
11:54 am Mr Paisley Jnr left the meeting.
The session was recorded by Hansard
9. Chairperson’s Business
Members noted an article by Glyn Roberts, Chief Executive of the Northern Ireland Independent Retail Trade Association (NIIRTA) about reducing the number of government departments.
The Committee discussed the Committee’s Forward Work Programme and the Committee clerk was asked to provide a briefing paper detailing the duration of Committee meetings during the 2008/2009 session.
Agreed: The Committee agreed to consider the Forward Work Programme at a future meeting.
A copy of the End of Session Report for the 2008-2008 session was tabled..
Agreed: Members agreed to consider the End of Session Report and contact Committee staff with comments or queries with the report.
10. Date, time and place of next meeting
The next meeting will be held on Tuesday, 22 September 2009 at 11.00am, in Room 144.
The Chairperson adjourned the meeting at 12.44 pm.
