Principles of Debate in the Northern Ireland Assembly
Purpose of Debate
1. Debate at the Assembly provides an opportunity for Members to express their views, scrutinise policy and legislation, and hold Ministers to account.
2. Debate is a two-way process in which Members should listen to, reflect upon and respond to the views of other Members.
3. The Assembly operates on the assumption that Members have had the opportunity to consider the relevant information and differing arguments before they vote.
Timing
4. If Members wish to participate, they should aim to be in the Chamber for the duration of the debate to hear the views of other Members before and after them. In exceptional circumstances, as a minimum, Members should be present for the two speeches before and the two speeches after they have spoken. It is deeply discourteous, and undermines the concept of debate, to be present only for your own remarks.
Engaging with the Arguments of Others
5. If a Member wishes to contribute to a debate, they should not come purely intending to read a pre-prepared script. Members should be prepared to be flexible in their remarks to respond to points made in debate and leave time for Members to make interventions.
6. If a Member has disagreed with a point someone else has made or how they have made it, it is entirely appropriate, and encouraged, to seek to make an intervention, or to respond to their remarks in their own speech. This is the means to debate, challenge and probe the views and positions expressed by others.
7. Even if Members do not expect to be called in a debate, interventions still enable them to raise a relevant point with other Members.
8. Once a Member has taken an intervention, they have given the floor to another Member but interventions should be short and not be abused to give long statements.
Tone and Temper of Debate
9. In debate, Members should show good manners and behave in a way that demonstrates courtesy, good temper, moderation and respect towards other Members
10. Be aware that the tone and temper of a Member’s remarks can be just as likely as the words used to have an impact on the overall debate.
11. Members should not expect that their contribution will be heard in complete silence – the Assembly is not a church. However, it is discourteous, disrespectful and disorderly, to heckle or shout down another Member, or to have loud conversations to the extent that the Member that has the floor cannot be heard.
Language and Content of Debate
12. Members should avoid personal remarks, attacks or insults on other Members, focussing on the issues they disagree with, rather than the person. That is one of the reasons why remarks are made through the Chair.
13. Be mindful that Members can express political differences in robust debate without using words or phrases that are likely to be provocative or offensive to other Members.
14. However, in an Assembly of diverse political views, Members should also respect freedom of expression. Members should accept that points will be made by other Members that they will not agree with, sometimes in terms that they would not use themselves, including different assertions or interpretations of issues.
15. Members may sometimes get carried away in the heat of a debate. If someone draws a Member’s attention to the fact that they have found something said offensive or distasteful, Members should be prepared to reflect upon, and respond to, that perspective, even if at a later point.
16. Members should take care that their own contribution is well founded and accurate.
Scope
17. Members should stay within the scope of the debate they are participating in. It is not enough to make a connection to one or two words that are in a motion without addressing its main thrust. Coming to a debate determined to focus on issues which are tenuously connected to it is discourteous to other Members who are seeking to contribute directly on the matter being discussed. Standing Order 17(7) provides for the Chair to intervene on a Member who "persists in irrelevance or tedious repetition".
18. If the Chair interrupts and asks a Member to come back to the motion, it should generally be taken as an intervention which gives the Member an opportunity to adjust their remarks and avoid a scenario in which they would be asked to take their seat.
The Role of the Chair
19. It is an abuse to use Points of Order as a way of responding to a debate. If a Member has an issue with an assertion that someone has made during a debate, they should seek an intervention, or respond in their own speech to challenge it, rather than raise it with the Chair. The Speaker’s Office does not have investigatory powers and cannot act as a fact checker on everything said in debate.
20. In accordance with Standing Order 1(2), the Chair's decision is final. If the Chair has given a decision on a matter, there is no debate to be had.
