Ministerial Code

NI deputy First Minister “choosing to ignore the requirement to comply with the rule of law to express a political advantage”

Pete Baker on August 17, 2020, 7:03 pm

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Worth noting the comments of Mr Justice McAlinden in Belfast High Court today, having read the arguments put forward in an application for a judicial review of the NI Executive Office’s failure to introduce the victims payments scheme. Or, rather, Sinn Féin’s refusal to implement the scheme… From the BBC report “I see it as one element within the Executive Office deliberately choosing to ignore the requirement to comply with the rule of law to express a political advantage,” Mr …

“The ministerial code says all kinds of things about what should happen…”

Pete Baker on October 11, 2018, 1:49 pm

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A couple of quick points to note from the Renewal Heat Inquiry today, where senior civil servant Andrew McCormick has been giving evidence about the lack of minute taking within Northern Ireland Executive departments. From the BBC report On Thursday, the inquiry was told that a key meeting in August 2015, where a decision was taken to delay cost controls to the RHI scheme, had not been formally minuted. Mr McCormick said that was not unusual, as part of the …

Lord Chief Justice Morgan: “this is a case about political failure”

Pete Baker on December 28, 2013, 4:02 pm

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Not the Haass talks. You can keep your nose pressed against the windowpane with David if you’re hoping for a scrap of comfort from that. No, this is about the continued dysfunctional approach of the two main parties of the Northern Ireland Executive semi-detached polit-bureau to the process of government – as defined under the current administration. Sinn Féin’s pre-Christmas (23 Dec) defence of the Northern Ireland Agriculture Minister Michelle O’Neill’s unilateral decision to re-allocate €137 million of EU funding over the next six …