...Assess the view that since 2007 the Assembly has been successful in holding the Executive Committee to account In Northern Ireland, holding the Government to account is one of Parliament’s main functions. The Assembly forces the Executive to justify bills, explain their motives and defend their actions; essentially through many mechanisms of scrutiny, that is Committees, Question Time and Debates. The main scrutiny instruments in the Assembly are the Statutory Committees. They hold the Executive to account through their wide-ranging scrutiny powers, mainly holding inquiries, scrutinising budget and by scrutinising legislation. Statutory Committees, as well as committees in general, are the engine room of the Northern Ireland Assembly. Statutory Committees hold inquiries into topical issues then report with recommendations and/or suggested solutions or alternatives back to the minister in question. Committees carrying out such scrutiny would convene and work with experts and stakeholders in the specified area surrounding the matter at stake, assisting the committee with their knowledge and understanding of the topical issue in question to which they can bring forward to the minister a fuller representation of evidence into the inquired issue. Much evidence to those is taken on board by the minister which subsequently leads to the implication good scrutiny. For example, in 2009 the Health Committee published a report on Obesity. 22 out of the 24 recommendations made were accepted...
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...deliberating on whether 16-year-olds should get the right to choose their elected representatives. Martin McGuinness told me on Inside Politics last month that the decision to allow 16-year-olds to vote in the Scottish independence referendum should set a precedent for any future border poll. This wasn't exactly a surprise - Sinn Fein has long advocated lowering the voting age. Apart from the principled argument put forward by Sinn Fein's Megan Fearon on the BBC's Sunday Politics that such an initiative will help young people connect with their politicians, there's another reason why nationalists might favour votes at 16. The latest statistics produced by the Department of Education in May show that the religious breakdown of Northern Ireland's 300,000 school pupils was 51% Catholic, 37% Protestant with the rest defined either as other Christian, non-Christian or no religion. Whilst in these changing times it's dangerous to assume that someone's religion equates to their politics, it's easy to see why nationalists might draw more heart from these statistics than unionists. Which makes it more of a surprise that the Ulster Unionists have decided to support lowering the voting age. Perhaps the UUP was sensitive to all those commentators who used to stereotype the party as a bunch of grey men in grey suits. But now, whilst DUP politicians like Christopher Stalford and Alastair Ross express their opposition to change, the Ulster Unionist Roy Beggs believes...
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...Lies of Silence Written Assignment PAIR WORK Marc & Mikael 2.a. Historical Context The conflict in Ireland and Northern Ireland is a long on going conflict about religion and most importantly whether or not Ireland should be a part of the United Kingdom. The background for the conflict can be dated all the way back to 1169 when the English king Henry the second invaded the country. The conflict in Ireland or the so-called “ The troubles” was a conflict from 1968-1998. On April 10. They made an agreement to a cease-fire. The agreement was called the Belfast agreement and it was a principal agreement of a peace process between the British and Irish governments. The two largest apposing paramilitary groups was the IRA who where fighting for the republic of Ireland and the Ulster defence association (UDA/UFF) who were the largest paramilitary and vigilante group in Northern Ireland. They both conducted terror actions such as bombings etc. against each other and civilians. Sinn Féin is an Irish republican party in Northern Ireland and the republic of Ireland. They are often linked with the IRA, but they refuse any connections between them. Another party is the “New Ulster Political Research Group” which is the political wing of the UDA who has ben active since 1971. Another of the big parties in the Northern Ireland is the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP). The Democratic Unionist Party has since 2007 formed government with Sinn Féin. Repetition of “Lies of Silence” ...
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...James Craig 1st Viscount Craigavon Early life James Craig was born in Sydenham, Belfast, 8 January 1871. He was son James Craig Senior. Who was a wealthy whiskey distiller. He was the sixth son and seventh child in total. Military life He enlisted in the 3rd (militia) regiment of the Royal Irish Rifles in 1900 to serve in the Second Boer War. He enjoyed military life but became impatient at the lack of professionalism and efficiency in the British Army. He made lieutenant and then captain but was taken prisoner in May 1900, but was released for medical reasons. On his recovery he became deputy assistant director of the Imperial Military Railways. During this he showed qualities of organization which were to mark his involvement in British and Ulster politics. In 1901 he was sent home because he suffered from dysentery, and by the time he was healthy again, the war had ended. Political career In the General Election of 1906, Craig entered parliament as the MP for East down. He proved to be a very energetic parliamentarian, taking a keen interest in a wide range of issues, namely social, educational and reform of the army. As the third Home Rule Bill of 1910 unfolded, Craig formed a very effective partnership with Sir Edward Carson. They worked together to mobilize Ulster...
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...British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and her cabinet were meeting, which wounded several British officials and killed four other Britons; • A 1993 car bombing in London's financial district, Canary Wharf, that killed one person and caused $1 billion of damage; • Mortar attacks on the British prime minister's residence and London's Heathrow Airport in the early 1990s; • Bombings of civilian targets, including pubs, shops, and subway stations, in Northern Ireland and Britain throughout the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. • Involvement in organized criminal activities, such as extortion, bank robbery, smuggling, and counterfeiting. 6. What is being done to eliminate this terrorist group? The Good Friday Agreement The IRA ceasefire in 1997 formed part of a process that led to the 1998 Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement between Ireland and British Governments. One aim of the Agreement is that all paramilitary groups in Northern Ireland cease their activities and disarm by May 2000. Calls from Sinn Féin, a political party in Ireland, led the IRA to commence disarming in a process that was monitored by Canadian General John de Chastelain's decommissioning body in October 2001. However, following the collapse of the Stormont power-sharing government in 2002, which was partly triggered by allegations that republican spies were operating within Parliament Buildings and the Civil Service, the IRA temporarily broke off contact with General de Chastelain. In December 2004, attempts to...
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...Socio-evolutionary identity plays a fundamental role in the building of the character of any nation, with Northern Ireland being no different. The constellation of discursive issues that demarcate Irelands conflicted history, are complex and multifarious. The conflict is steeped in the historical context of religious conviction, monarchical dispossession of territory and rights, a distrust of government and the impact of socio-economics on its people. Scholars, politicians and men of the cloth, from all sides of the political floor and religious faiths have assessed and reviewed the Irish ‘troubles’ and all remain convinced that they have the answer, the defining commitment or the epiphany that will or would have restored the island to peace and unity. However like all protracted conflicts the original catalyst is often lost or manifests into a raft of idiosyncratic reasons to fight. When we dissect the conflict down to base elements, there remains two strategic themes, the first being the alignment of faith between the Protestant minority and the Catholic majority and the second base element is the alignment of allegiance of country. The Catholic Nationalist desire for a unified Irish nation and the Unionist commitment to a fractured island with a northern annex, controlled by the United Kingdom is at the essence of the conflict. Whilst this might seem a myopic view of the struggle, it is difficult to reframe the conflict beyond its ethno-nationalist agenda and “Irishness...
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...German Law system Public Law * Public law rules the relations between a citizen or private person and an official entity or between two official entities, e.g. a law which determines taxes * Public law was formerly based on the so-called "superiority inferiority relationship", means that a public authority may define what is to be done, without the approval of the citizen. * E.g., if the authority orders a citizen to pay taxes, the citizen has to pay, even without an agreement. * In return, the authority has to abide by the law and may only order, if empowered by a law. * The newer theory to determine, whether a regulation is public or civil law, is the modified theory of subjects: if at least one of the subjects is part of the state or is legally empowered to act on behalf of any part of the state. Constitutional law * The constitution is called the Grundgesetz (Basic Law) because the drafters saw this legal part as a provisional document, to be replaced by the constitution of a future united Germany. * In reaction to National Socialism, the basic law shows mistrust towards its own people and its own government and was created as a reaction to the problems of the Weimar Constitution. * The constitutional law (Verfassungsrecht) deals mostly with Germany’s constitution and the rights and duties of the various institutions. * A major part are the Civil rights which are first in the basic law (Grundgesetz) and from which everything...
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...power to other regions. For example; the UK government decided to give devolved power to Scotland to form the Scottish Parliament, Northern Ireland to form The Northern Ireland Assembly and to Wales to form the Welsh Assembly. Scotland has statistically more devolved power than Wales or Northern Ireland as Scotland is able to decide the amount of tax that it demands off its citizens. Scotland is able to raise or lower the tax rate in Scotland by 3% which decreases UK government power over Scotland. On the contrary, the UK government does not have its power reduced. The UK government has the power to take away the devolved power that it has given to these regions. This has been previously conducted in the past with Northern Ireland in 1972 when Northern Ireland was stripped of its devolved power due to constant violence and lack of control that the Northern Ireland Assembly had over its people. Within the early years of Northern Irelands devotional power there was riots and verbal fights between politicians from unionist parties and nationalist/republican parties, leading to the suspension of the Northern Ireland Assembly on three separate occasions between 1999 and 2001. The plan to restore devolved power was left in the hands of Westminster this also shows that the UK government’s power was not reduced. Westminster accepted the changes in Northern Ireland and power was restored to them in 2006 with the St Andrews Agreement, stating...
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...Education in Ireland Ireland has a long and prestigious tradition in education, dating back to the middle ages when it held the position of the principal education providers to the western world (International Education Board - Ireland, 1997). Ireland requires that all children from six until sixteen years of age, or until the child has completed 3 years of secondary education, attend school by law. Due to Ireland’s emphasis on education and literacy, 99 percent of the population aged 15 and over can read and write, according to the Central Intelligence Agency World Fact Book. The Department of Education and Science direct the educational system; however overall responsibility for education in Ireland lies with the Minister for Education, who is a member of the Irish Government and responsible to the National Parliament (International Education Board - Ireland, 1997). Ireland’s education system is technically classified by three levels of education: Primary, Secondary and Tertiary. As stated earlier, although children aren’t required to attend school until the age of 6, many enroll into the Early Start Programme at the age of 4 with almost all children enrolled but the age of 5. The pre-primary education is not State funded, with the exception of the Early Start Programme and the Rutland Street Project. These programs are specifically designed for children who live in areas of urban disadvantage and have the risk of not succeeding in education. Throughout Ireland, there are approximately...
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...Sinn Fein Sinn Fein (/ʃɪn ˈfeɪn/ shin-FAYN) is an Irish republican political party active in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The name is Irish for "ourselves" or "we ourselves",although it is frequently mistranslated as "ourselves alone:Originating in the Sinn Fein organization founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffith, it took its current form in 1970 after a split within the party (the other party is the Workers' Party of Ireland), and has been associated with the Provisional Irish Republican Army Gerry Adams has been party president since 1983. Sinn Fein is currently the second-largest party in the Northern Ireland Assembly, where it has four ministerial posts in the power-sharing Northern Ireland Executive, and the fourth-largest party in the Oireachtas, the parliament of the Republic. Sinn Fein also received a plurality of Northern Ireland votes in the 2010 United Kingdom general election, although the Democratic Unionist Party won more seats. Police Service of Northern Ireland The Police Service of Northern Ireland (Irish: Seirbhís Póilíneachta Thuaisceart Éireann, Ulster Scots: Polis Servis o Norlin Airlan) is the police force that serves Northern Ireland. It is the successor of the defunct Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) which, in turn, was the successor to the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) in Northern Ireland. Although the majority of PSNI officers are still from the Protestant community, this dominance is not as pronounced as it was in the RUC because...
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...Unit 1 P1 “Outline the responsibilities of the different level of government in the UK.” House of Commons – It is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The HoC is part of the legislative process of British Politics. It consists of 650 elected members of Parliament, who represent a board spectrum of political parties. Each MP represents a constituency, which is a localised geographical area. There are two ways in which people get elected, it can happen either during a general election or by-election. A big range of political views and interests are represented in the House of Commons, which enables the ‘House’ to ensure that legislation and decisions are well debated by a variety of different people, which political views differ. HoC has a lot of different roles, MP’s are responsible of debating and passing all laws (legislation), controlling finances, protecting the individuals, examining European proposals, and scrutinises the work of the government, policies and administration. Those roles may have extremely wide impact on the country and public services. House of Lords – It is the upper house, the Second chamber, and is also commonly referred to as “the Lords”. The House of Lords can have a variable amount of members. Currently, there are about 790 members who are eligible to take part in the work of the HoL. Members come from many walks of life and bring experience and knowledge from a wide range of occupations. Majority of them are life peers, which...
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...who took part in the referendum chose to keep using the first past the post system and 32% wanted to change to the alternative vote. As a result, first past the post will continue to be used in UK general elections. Other referendums in the UK Before the alternative vote referendum, only one nationwide referendum had taken place in the UK. This was in 1975 when the British Prime Minister Harold Wilson asked voters ‘Do you think the UK should stay in the European Community (Common Market)?’ (The Common Market has since grown into the European Union.) 67% of voters answered ‘yes’ and the UK is still part of the European Union today. Several referendums have also been held in particular regions of the UK such as Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. For example, in 1997, voters in Scotland were asked whether they wanted a Scottish Parliament while voters in Wales were asked whether they wanted a...
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...Levels of Government Introduction There are different levels of government that meet different aims, either to improve the country/small areas or provide the country/small areas with essential ‘goods’. What are the roles for government departments? The main role of government departments and their agencies is to carry out government policies and to advise ministers. They receive their funding from money that is given to them by parliament. They are staffed by impartial civil servants. They also work alongside local authorities; non department public bodies and other government organisations i.e. Regional, central, etc. Also government departments are headed by ministers or secretaries of state. With all departments they report to the PM and then the, PM reports to parliament and HM Queen. The level of government as follows, starts with the ‘Central Government’. This is a person who oversees the country and makes any changes, if necessary. Next is the ‘Regional Government’, which is a form of government which groups together small administrative units into a region and governs them. Lastly we have the ‘Local Government’; this is when the government gives ’local councils’ more power to decide how to spend public money in their areas, so they can meet local people's needs. We also have the ‘Parliaments and Devolved Parliaments’. However this is not a level of government as it’s a place to ‘parlay’ (talk). Moreover the central government’s decisions are talked within the:...
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...1973 Northern Ireland Referendum The Northern Ireland sovereignty referendum of 1973 (also known as the Border Poll) was a referendum held in Northern Ireland on 8 March 1973. The referendum was on whether Northern Ireland should remain part of the United Kingdom or join with the Republic of Ireland to form a ‘United Ireland’. It was the first major referendum to be held in a region of the United Kingdom. The referendum was held On 23 January 1973, the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) called on its members "to ignore completely the referendum and reject this extremely irresponsible decision by the British Government". Gerry Fitt, leader of the SDLP, said he “had organised a boycott to stop an escalation in violence”. The question “Do you want Northern Ireland to remain part of the United Kingdom?” won by a land slide 98.9% over the 1.1% of voters voting against. The electorate were asked to indicate: Choice | Vote | Percentage[5] | Do you want Northern Ireland to remain part of the United Kingdom? | 591,820 | 98.9% | Do you want Northern Ireland to be joined with the Republic of Ireland outside the United Kingdom? | 6,463 | 1.1% | The vote was not legitimate because the SDLP members did not vote. They could have opposed staying in the United Kingdom. Votes breakdown: * Electorate: 1,030,084 (in 1973 * Total votes: 604,256 (58.66% of Electorate) * Valid votes: 598,283 (99.01% of Total votes) * Spoiled votes: 5,973 (0.99% of Total votes) * Non-voters:...
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...Adam Golembiewski Public Services Level 3 UNIT 1 - GOVERNMENT, POLICIES AND THE PUBLIC SERVICES Task 2 – M1 explain in detail the responsibilities of the different levels of government in the UK Unit 1 M2 – explain in detail the responsibilities of the different levels of government in the UK. The different levels of government are: Local, Regional and National government. Local Government Local Government is also known as ‘councils’ or ‘local authorities,’ there are 4 types of Local government all covering different sized areas. These types of council are: * County councils (council for counties e.g. Nottinghamshire) * Parish council (e.g boroughs like Woodsetts) * Metropolitan council (e.g. London) * Unitary Authorities (e.g. towns, Nottingham) The most important role of a council is the services they provide for citizens. County and Metropolitan councils are responsible for services across the whole of a county or city, like education, transport services, planning, fire and public safety, social care, libraries, waste management and trading standards for their area. Parish (Borough) councils cover a smaller area, often a town or rural area, and are usually responsible for services such as rubbish collection and recycling, council tax collection, leisure services and housing. Unitary authorities are councils that provide one tier of local government and provide all services. This is confusing as they can also be called city...
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