Committee for The Executive Office
Minutes of Proceedings Wednesday 12 June 2024
Committee for the Executive Office minutes of proceedings 12 June 2024.pdf (158.85 kb)
Meeting Location: Room 30, Parliament Buildings
Present:
Ms Paula Bradshaw MLA (Chairperson)
Ms Connie Egan MLA (Deputy Chairperson)
Mr Harry Harvey MLA
Mr Brian Kingston MLA
Ms Carál Ní Chuilín MLA
Present by Video or Teleconference:
Mr Pádraig Delargy MLA
Ms Sinéad McLaughlin MLA
Ms Emma Sheerin MLA
Ms Claire Sugden MLA
In Attendance:
Mr Michael Potter (Assembly Clerk)
Mr Tom Armstrong (Assistant Assembly Clerk)
Ms Andrienne Magee (Clerical Supervisor)
Mr Stephen McGlennon (Clerical Officer)
The meeting commenced at 2.01pm in open session
1. Apologies
There were no apologies.
2. Declarations of Interest
There were no declarations of interest.
3. Chairperson’s Business
The Chairperson discussed the racist attacks in South Belfast and the number of events taking place in Ebrington Square this summer.
4. Draft Minutes
Agreed: The Committee agreed the minutes of the meeting held on Wednesday 5 June 2024.
5. Matters Arising
The Committee discussed the opening of the survey for the Committee inquiry on Gaps in Equality Legislation.
6. Oral Evidence Session – International Relations – Departmental Briefing
The witnesses joined the meeting at 2.04pm
Members received a briefing from:
- Tom Reid, Deputy Secretary, International and Intergovernmental Relations, The Executive Office
- Lynsey Moore, Director, Europe Strategy and International Relations, The Executive Office
- Kerry Curran, Director, NI Bureau China, The Executive Office
- Aodhán Connolly, Director, Office of the NI Executive in Brussels, The Executive Office
- Andrew Elliott, Director, NI Bureau North America
The witnesses provided the Committee an overview of the Department’s work on International Relations.
Sinead McLaughlin MLA joined the meeting at 2.08pm
Pádraig Delargy MLA joined the meeting at 2.17pm
The oral evidence was followed by a question and answer session.
Agreed: Departmental Officials agreed to share information on the funding of the three Bureaux over the last five years.
Agreed: Departmental Officials agreed to share information on the Key Performance Indicators of the three Bureaux from 2016 to 2022.
The Chairperson thanked the witnesses for their attendance.
The witnesses left the meeting at 3.22pm
7. Oral Evidence Session – June Monitoring – Departmental Officials
The witnesses joined the meeting at 3.23pm
Members received a briefing from:
- Gareth Johnston, Accounting Officer, The Executive Office
- Ronan Murtagh, Finance Director, The Executive Office
- Paula Shearer, Head of Budgeting Branch, The Executive Office
The witnesses provided the Committee an overview of the Department’s bids for the June Monitoring round.
The oral evidence was followed by a question and answer session.
The Chairperson thanked the witnesses for their attendance.
The witnesses left the meeting at 3.55pm
8. Draft Forward Work Programme
Members considered the draft forward work programme.
Agreed: Members agreed that they were content to proceed with the briefings as set out in the work programme.
9. Correspondence
i. The Committee noted the summary of Committee correspondence.
ii. The Committee noted a response from the Executive Office on the legal fees spent by the HIA Redress Board.
iii. The Committee noted a letter from the Northern Ireland Assembly Acting Head of Communications on Joining Committee Meetings via Zoom.
iv. The Committee noted a letter from the Northern Ireland Assembly Head of Information Technology on the Constituency Office Survey.
v. The Committee noted a response from the Department for Communities in relation to the UN Report on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
vi. The Committee noted the Sixteenth Report of the Examiner of Statutory Rules.
vii. The Committee noted the Seventeenth Report of the Examiner of Statutory Rules.
10. Any Other Business
None.
11. Date, Time and Place of next meeting
The next meeting will be held on Wednesday 19 June 2024 at 2:00pm in Room 30, Parliament Buildings.
The meeting was adjourned at 3.56pm
Paula Bradshaw MLA
Chairperson, Committee for the Executive Office
