Agreements

What are some of the NI Agreements? (6)

1. Good Friday Agreement (1998)
2. St Andrews Agreement (2006)
3. Hillsborough Agreement (2010)
4. Stormont House Agreement (2014)
5. Shared Future Agreement (2015)
6. New decade new approach (2020/Deal)

When was the Good Friday Agreement?

10th April 1998

What were the three strands of the GFA?

1. Northern Ireland
2. North-South
3. East-West

What did strand 1 of the GFA include?

A government accepted by both nationalists and unionists, this formed the NI Assembly

What did strand 2 of the GFA include?

The North South Ministerial Council- A new constructive relationship over the whole island

What did strand 3 of the GFA include?

The British Irish Council- Constructive relationship between the island of Ireland and the rest of the british isles

What were the other issues of the GFA? (3)

1. Prisoner releases
2. Reform of the RUC
3. Decommissioning of Paramilitary weapons

How was powersharing achieved? (2)

1. 108 MLAs elected by STV
2. Executive based on electoral strength

How was the role for the republic of ireland achieved? (2)

1. The irish govchanhed articles 2&3 of their constitution to ease unionist fears
2. A North South Ministerial Council was set up

How was a link with britain achieved? (2)

1. The british Irish Council created to show commitment to create a better relationship between the UK and ROI
2. Majority Consent for United Ireland to calm unionist worries

How was prisoner release an issue?

Loyalist and republican prisoners released on licence, this deeply concerned unionists

How was the decommissioning of arms an issue? (2)

1. Unionists would not deal with Sinn Fein until arms were put 'far beyond use'
2. Independent arms body set up to be led by American senator George Mitchell

How was the RUC Reform an issue and how was it achieved? (4)

1. Highly Controversial
2. Patten Commission set up by ex british govenor of hong kong, Chris Patten
3. Reforms included : New name, equal recruitment, badge changed
4. Ruc awarded george cross iin recognition of sacrifice

What was the turn out for the referendum on GFA? (2)

1. 71% voted yes
2. 81% voted

What were the institutions set up under the GFA? (3)

1. NI Assembly
2. NSMC
3. BIC

What is the NSMC?

A cross border body set up to develop cooperation, consultation and action on key matters

What are the roles and functions of the NSMC

1. Joint Secretariat- Permanent body meeting Armagh containing civil servants from both sides
2. Meetings- throughout the year
3. Plenary meetings- Large meetings taking place twice a year including the Taoiseach, First and Deputy minister

What were the 12 agreed sectors for co-operation and why ? (12)

1. Agriculture- Highly important economically
2. Education- Issues like pupil under achievement and special needs in education to be tackled
3. Environment- Environmental protection, waste and water management
4. Health- Co-op on health promotion and use of expensive equipment and cancer care
5. Tourism-To promote the island of Ireland by 'Tourism Ireland'
6. Transport- Co=op on new road and rail links
7. Food safety promotion- Deals with promotiong food safety
8. Foyle and Irish lights commission- Runs light houses
9. Inland waterways- deals with shared waterways such as promoting inland waterways
10. Language body- Set up to promote irish and ulster scots languages
11.Special eu programmes (?)- managed eu peace funding for cross border projects
12. Trade and Business development- promotes cross-border trade

Where has NSMC been successful? (6)

1. New motorway links from Belfast to dublin
2. Better Railway services to dublin from belfast
3. Inter trade bringing in investment and jobs
4. Successful crossborder road and food safety advertising
5. Touristy Ireland successfully promoting the island abroad
6. Medical care shared in areas like Donegal and Derry LondonDerry

Where has NSMC been challenged? (2)

1. Nationalists want more crossborder bodies
2. unionists do not want more crossborder bodies nor the development of present bodies

What is the British Irish Council?

The third strand of the GFA

What is the aim and functionof the British Irish Council?

To promote cross border cooperation across the British isles, heads of government meet twice a year to discuss issues of mutual concern and potential cooperation.

What countries are in the British Irish council? (8)

1. Northern Ireland
2. Republic of Ireland
3. Scotland
4. Wales
5. Guernsey
6. Jersey
7. Isle of Man
8. UK

What are the areas of cooperation in the BIC? (9)

1. Environment
2. Transport
3. E-Health
4. Demography
5. Minority Languages
6. Knowledge Economy
7. Misuse of drugs
8. Tourism
9. Social inclusion

How effective was the BIC? (4)

Some question its usefulness as a body, however there has been areas of success:
1. A regional transportation strategy was devised to aid the growth of links
2. Several areas of co-op were agreed to share costs
3. Intelligence on drug trafficking has been strengthened
4. Successful policies are often discussed.

What were the positives of the GFA? (6)

1. Public support
2. Electoral endorsement
3. Representation and inclusive
4. Good relations between SDLP and UUP
5. Effective policy marketing
6. Peace

How did the public support the GFA?

94% of the Republic voted for the GFA
70.1% of N.I voted for the GFA

How was electoral endorsement a success of the GFA?

In the 1st assembly elections, the NI public widely supported the Pro-Agreement parties

How was representation a success of the GFA and what are some examples?

Wider sections of society were included for the 1st time due to the STV voting system.
Examples include The NI Women's Coalition and PUP(Working class unionist)

How was good relationship between SDLP and UUP a success of the GFA?

At stages of the executive there seemed to be a good working relationship between Seamus Mallon (Deputy 1st Minister-SDLP) and David Trimble (1st Minister- UUP)

How was effective policy marketing a success of the GFA?

The assembly proved effective on issues such as the outbreak of Foot and Mouth in Cattle being effectively contaminated in NI

How was Peace a success of the GFA?

An era of peace was brought after 30 years of bloodshed, NI became more prosperous with tourists and the housing market

What were the negatives of the GFA? (11)

1. Dup Tactics
2. Flawed system
3. Committee issues
4. Solo runs
5. SF involvement
6. Unionist division
7. Decomissioning
8. RUC reform
9. SF refusal to support police
10. Continued paramilitary activity
11. Mistrust

How was DUP tactics a failure of the GFA?

Dup were determined to wreck the agreement from within, took their seats in the hope of making the institutions unworkable therefore bringing it down. They refused to go to NMSC meetings or talk to SF.

How was a flawed system a failure of the GFA? (2)

1. The formation of the executive proved difficult, there were concerns over executive positions (People were upset of Martin McGuiness being made minister for education)
2. No real cabinet system as departments didn.t really work together, instead they had a silo mentality where each department guarded its own interests

How was Committee problems a failure of the GFA? (2)

1. Ministers would not listen to their committees
2. Committees were inexperienced at first, making them ineffective

How was Solo runs a failure of the GFA and what are some examples(2)?

Ministers would not listen to committees and make their own decisions. Examples of this include:
1. SF minister for health Bairbre De Bruin decided to build the new maternity unit in The Royal Victoria (West belfast, predominantly republican) rather than the recommended City Hospital (in a more unionist part of belfast)
2. SF Minister for education Martin McGuinmess decided to abolish the 11+ transfer system (favoured by unionists and the middle class), his committee ha not yet decided on the idea

How was Sinn Fein Involvement a failure of the GFA?

The dup opposed working with Sinn Fein, along side UUP members. This caused divisons within the UUP

How was Unionist division a failure of the GFA?

The UUP was deeply divided by the GFA. Prominent members spoke out over concerns then left for the DUP

How was Decommissioning a failure of the GFA?

The biggest failure, IRA would not give up their weapons. Unionists seen SF as being in government with their guns under the table, SF viewed decommissioning as 'surrender'

How was RUC reform and prisoners a failure of the GFA?

Unionists did not support prisoner releases, the withdrawal of the army and the Reform of the RUC

How was SF refusal to support police a failure of the GFA?

Sinn fein refused to support the policing and justice system even after RUC reform, unionists felt they had compromised greatly and questioned the logic of having a party in a democratic system which was openly opposed to the rule of law

How was continued paramilitary activity a failure of the GFA? (3)

1. In august 1998 Omagh, a bomb killed 31 people. It was planted by the IRA and showed continuing opposition among hard line republicans.
2. Kneecappings and beatings still continued
3. A 25 million bank robbery was blamed on the IRA

How was mistrust a failure of the GFA? (3)

1. UUP was under phenomenal pressure to make the assembly work yet were being torn apart by working with SF. Their party relied heavily on Alliance and PUP votes
2. Trimble and Mallon had personality clashes. Some called them 'The Brothers Grimm'
3. Many saw the assembly as a factory of grievances rather than a legislative body

How long after the GFA was the assembly suspended and why?

2002-07 due to lack of decommissioning and an alleged IRA spy ring

Why did they need another agreement after the GFA? (2)

1. Suspension of the assembly
2. St Andrews was pieced together to provide a meaningful way forward with an aim of getting the assembly back up and running and to end the issues which plagued the first assembly

What was agreed at St Andrews? (2)

1. A new ministerial code of conduct- DUP and Sinn Fein agreed to different things
2. New procedures introduced

What did the DUP agree to in the ministerial code of conduct? (2)

1. They were obligated to attend nsmc meetings
2. All executive ministers needed to work together

What did SF agree to in the ministerial code of conduct? (2)

1. Commitment to policing and justice- all parties had to accept the principals
2. IRA Decommissioning

What new procedures were introduced? (2)

1. F/DF Ministers no longer chosen by d'hondt but instead were chosen by the largest parties, formally recognised as one power
2. New safe guards to prevent solo runs, collective responsibility introduced allowing a cross community vote to be called if 3 ministers disagreed with a key issue.

When was the St Andrews Agreement?

October 2006

When was the Hillsborough Agreement?

February 2010

What was the Hillsborough Agreement known as?

The final piece of the project

What was agreed at Hillsborough? (3)

1. Policing and justice was to be devolved as a 12th department
2. The Minister for justice would be elected by cross community vote- first one was David Ford (Alliance)
3. A £800 million sum was provided to 'sweeten the deal'

What pressures was the Hillsborough under at the time? (3)

1. SF was threatening to pull out of the executive
2. The DUP were facing the Iris Robinson Scandal (Affair between Iris Robinson MP and a 19 year old)
3. British Government were threatening to remove funding

What were the positives of Hillsborough? (3)

1. Wildly popular as the public didnt want another suspension
2. Appointment of an Alliance Minister had been supported
3. Devolution of powers made police and assembly more accountable

What were the Challenges of Hillsborough? (2)

1. The assembly faced security issues after the murder of Ronan Kerr, Catholic police man
2. Politicians were brought into the firing for Justice issue- David Ford apologised many times for the prisoner releases

Was a non alliance member ever chosen for first minister?

Yes, Claire Sugden Independant Unionist

When was the Stormont House agreement?

December 2014

What issues were there before the Stormont House Agreement? (5)

1. Legacy of Troubles victims
2. Investigation into historical crims from the troubles
3. Parades and Flags were leading to protests
4. People wanted Corporation Tax to be devolved from Westminster to make NI competitive
5. Serious financial pressures on the Executive. Large fines were being imposed for Welfare reform not being introduced in NI

What was agreed at Stormont house? (7)

1. A commission was set up to look over the issues of flags
2. Responsibility for parades being devolved
3. A Historical Investigations unit was to be set up
4. Welfare reform was to be introduced
5. NI was to have corporation tax devolved by 2017
6. MLAs reduced from 108-90; Departments reduced from 12-9
7. Funding was to be provided for an official opposition

Was the Stormont house agreement successful?

It quickly unravelled into disagreement

What were the issues of the Stormont House agreement? (2)

1. Welfare Reform- Nationalist parties introduced a petition of concern to stop its introduction. Unionists seen it as a betrayal of the agreement and London began to impose big fines for the delay
2. Paramilitary violence- The murder of leading republicans by allegedly the IRA caused the UUP to pull out of the executive, followed by the DUP. The DUP kept a revolving minister in place to prevent the assembly falling apart. Government workings became highly difficult

When was the shared future/fresh start agreement?

2015

Why was there the need for the shared future agreement?

A long political crisis began to take place at the NI assembly, people pulling out of the agreement etc

What was agreed in the shared future agreement?

1. All parties were to commit to ending paramilitary structures. MLA's were not allowed to take instructions from paramilitary groups. International monitoring group set up
2. Cross border task force to bring together all cross border agencies with the aim to fight cross border crime
3. Welfare reform to be introduced but a £564 million package was announced to reduce the effects on the vulnerable
4. Corporation tax to be introduced by 2018

What did the shared future agreement not cover?

Flags, parades and the legacy of the troubles

What was successful about the Shared Future agreement?

Prolonged the life of assembly to the 2016 elections.

What was a failure of the Shared future agreement?

1. Only a deal between DUP and SF
2. Key issues were ignored
3. Couldn't save the assemble from suspension 2017-2020, Martin McGuiness resigned due to RHI scandal

What happened after the assembly suspension from 2017-20

1. 2020 New decade New approach
2. Feb 22- DUP wont take seats until protocol is 'fixed'