The
Nature of the British-Irish Agreement
by Brendan O'Leary
Table Four. The Allocation of Ministries (with a DUP boycott or exclusion)
| |
|
UKUP |
DUP |
PUP
|
UUP |
APNI
|
NIWC |
SDLP |
SF |
|
|
S
|
M
|
S
|
M
|
S
|
M
|
S
|
M
|
S
|
M
|
S
|
M
|
S
|
M
|
S
|
M
|
|
1
|
5
|
-
|
20
|
N/a
|
2
|
-
|
28
|
[1]
|
6
|
[10]
|
2
|
-
|
24
|
[2]
|
18
|
[3]
|
|
2
|
|
|
10
|
N/a
|
|
|
14
|
[4]
|
|
|
|
|
12
|
[5]
|
9
|
[7]
|
|
3
|
|
|
6.6
|
N/a
|
|
|
9.3
|
6
|
|
|
|
|
8
|
[8]
|
6
|
|
|
4
|
|
|
5
|
|
|
|
7
|
[9]
|
|
|
|
|
6
|
|
4.5
|
|
|
All
|
|
|
|
20
|
N/a
|
|
|
28
|
4
|
6
|
1
|
|
|
24
|
3
|
18
|
2
|
There is only one important ambiguity in the Agreement about how the d'Hondt
rule will operate. Two possibilities exist. Either the First and Deputy
First Ministers count as part of the allocation of Ministers, or they do
not. If they do count then, in the examples above, UUP would start the allocation
with 27 seats and the SDLP with 23. In some possible scenarios this method
would have the important consequence of helping other parties. But if they
do not count, as I think is the most reasonable reading of the text, then
allocations would proceed as in the above examples.
The d'Hondt rule is also to be used to allocate Committee Chairs and Deputy
Chairs. It would be fair to do so with the figures resulting from the subtraction
of Ministers from parties' seats in the Assembly, but the Agreement is not
clear on this. It is also not clear if the d'Hondt rule will be used to
allocate all Committee places. I am assuming that that will happen - in
which case some committees may not have unionist majorities.
The UUP and SDLP have provisionally agreed the creation of junior Ministers
- presumably to be allocated places on the d'Hondt rule. If so, then every
major pro-agreement party will have most of its members 'having prizes'
of some sort of another - something which can only assist the cementing
of the Agreement, and will provide incentives for a shift of posture on
the part of ambitious anti Agreement Assembly members. It will also mean
that the new Assembly is likely to have a rather small part of its membership
free for standard adversarial parliamentary debating in the classical Westminster
mould. Perhaps that is also to the good. |
