Select Committee on Northern Ireland Affairs Second Report


1  Introduction


1. This Report reviews the work of the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee during 2007, a year which has seen significant developments in both the apparatus of government and the conduct of politics in Northern Ireland. With the restoration to the Northern Ireland Assembly of responsibility for scrutiny of the work of the Departments of the Northern Ireland Executive, this Committee's responsibilities shrank in May 2007 to cover policing, criminal justice and political and constitutional developments in Northern Ireland.

2. As a Committee we are of course delighted that responsibility for the majority of policy areas has been restored to a body which is directly accountable to the people of Northern Ireland. For us, however, this has meant a considerably reduced remit, with inevitable consequences for our ability to carry out the 'core tasks' set by the House for all departmentally related select committees. Nevertheless, 2007 was a busy year for the Committee, made especially so in its early months by the need to complete our major Report on Tourism in good time for devolution of responsibility for such matters.

3. The Committee's visits to Northern Ireland are an important aspect of its work. Such visits allow us to meet and talk to key personalities who are directly involved in carrying out or in monitoring the areas of policy that we as a Committee scrutinise. In some cases, we have been able to hear formal, public evidence from organisations or individuals; in other cases, we have held private discussions. Both formats, in their different ways, contribute greatly to our understanding of the matters into which we inquire and of political developments in Northern Ireland more generally.

4. We like to visit Northern Ireland at least six times a year, but important political developments meant that in 2007 we visited Northern Ireland on just three occasions, travelling not only to Belfast but to Bangor and to Limavady. A further visit took place in January 2008.

  1. We also visited the Republic of Ireland in January and October 2007, and again in January 2008. Although they are slightly less frequent than our visits to Northern Ireland, these visits are an important opportunity for members of the Committee to meet senior figures in the Irish government, Parliament and other organisations to discuss the many matters of mutual interest. We wish to place on record our thanks to all those whom we have met in the Republic of Ireland for the warmth of their welcome and the quality of their discourse. We are also grateful to the British Ambassador in Dublin, David Reddaway, and other Embassy staff who have been of great assistance on every visit.




 
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Prepared 30 January 2008