Good afternoon,

I can confirm that the Executive has successfully submitted a budget and associated statutory instruments prior to the deadline. The budget bill will be available in full below. The associated statutory instruments are also listed below.

The Budget Statement: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1k2_pirjq2UB_MVsi1xgFh2di5Bn0jWW7yvhC7nplD9I/edit?usp=sharing

The Budget Sheets:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/16V_Snaj1IeANjku-zWT5K7SbgYLOZjzgQQj50AMkq6s/edit?usp=sharing

Rates and Taxation (Northern Ireland) (No. 2) Act 2023: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1sr7m265mU1Jes2pDzrOte5Vt4QxFcyUsByygGxEi1Fk/edit?usp=sharing

The Land Value Tax (Northern Ireland) Order 2023: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1YryxpScR88PXamy7JgaOvUxZHcrrS1ebmEUO4j_5F_A/edit?usp=sharing

This Act was submitted in the name of The Most Honourable Lady model-avery LT LD DBE CT CVO PC MP MLA, Duchess of Ulster, First Minister of Northern Ireland, on behalf of the Northern Irish Executive

This reading shall end on the 1st of December at 10pm GMT

Stormont Flags Motion

This Assembly notes that–

(1) The two flagpoles on the Assembly building are meant to fly flags.

(2) Despite this flag, they are left empty most of the time.

(3) That there are many flags which can represent the Northern Irish people, but that one ought to be flown.

As such, the Assembly requests that the Executive–

(1) That two green, white and orange flags be flown over the Assembly, with the green representing catholics, the white representing peace, and the orange representing our protestants.

(2) That, on given days, these flags may be replaced by a Union Jack, or a flag celebrating the LGBTQ+ community, or parts thereof.

This Motion was written by the MLA for Foyle, Inadorable, and is introduced as a Private Member’s Motion.

Ceann Comhairle,

I am proud to introduce this motion today, in which I finally tackle one of the greatest questions of real estate here at the Stormont grounds. Why have flagpoles, if there are no flags? Obviously, we ought to fly a flag, and with a design that ought to inspire unity amongst the people of our great country, this motion will make sure we do. A green, white and orange flag would represent our peoples most perfectly, Ceann Comhairle, and with it serving as a symbol of peace we are making a clear statement in support of future unity in our country! I hope that this Assembly will pass this motion, and that we can finally be proud to fly a flag yet again.

Debate on this motion will end on Saturday 25th November at 10pm GMT.

The Minister for AERA, /u/eKyogre, is taking questions from the Assembly.

Anyone may each ask up to four initial questions, with one follow-up question to each. (8 in total)

In the first instance, only the minister may respond. "Hear, hear" and "Rubbish" are allowed, and are the only things allowed.

Initial questioning ends on Saturday 25th November at 10pm GMT, with an extra day given for ministers to answer questions and for follow up questions to be asked.

Michael D. Higgins Statue Motion

This Assembly notes that–

(1) Michael D. Higgins has been one of the most accomplished and beloved presidents of Ireland.

(2) Michael D. Higgins’ commitment to human rights is one of significant note.

(3) There remain large open spaces on the Stormont estate.

As such, the Assembly requests that the Executive–

(1) Invests in a new statue of Michael D. Higgins, to be placed prominently in front of the Assembly building.

This Motion was written by the MLA for Foyle, Inadorable, and is introduced as a Private Member’s Motion.

Ceann Comhairle, Michael D. Higgins is one of my personal heroes, something that should not be surprising to the members of this house. As one of the greatest representatives of social democracy on the world stage, and an icon of human rights, he and his dogs have long held special places in the hearts of the Irish on both sides of the border. To me, he belongs in a long line of Irish heroes, almost on the level of someone like John Hume: a fundamentally decent person who only wished for the very best for his people, and for people around the world. He is the kind of man who ought to be celebrated, unlike the statues on the Stormont Estate today which celebrate segregationists and the enemies of half our people today. I can only say that I hope we have a President like Michael D. Higgins one day, but as a president of an united Ireland, for all our people. But for now, let’s celebrate the heroes we have.

Debate under this motion shall end on the 18th of November at 10pm GMT

The First Minister, /u/model-avery, and the deputy First Minister, /u/Zakian3000 are taking questions from the Assembly.

Members may ask up to four initial questions, with one follow-up question to each. (8 in total)

In the first instance, only the ministers may respond. "Hear, hear" and "Rubbish" are allowed, and are the only things allowed.

Initial questioning ends on the 18th of November at 10 pm, with an extra day given for ministers to answer questions and for follow up questions to be asked.

Good evening,

To permit some debate, we now are proceeding to a topic debate. The topic subject to debate is as follows:

"Should The Good Friday Agreement should be amended to require a supermajority to leave the UK?"

Members are encouraged to debate one another's views, but are reminded to keep it respectful and on topic. Topics to be debated can be submitted to the speakership via modmail or on Discord.

This debate will end on Saturday 11th November at 10pm GMT.

The Minister for Economy, /u/model-avtron, is taking questions from the Assembly.

Anyone may each ask up to four initial questions, with one follow-up question to each. (8 in total)

In the first instance, only the minister may respond. "Hear, hear" and "Rubbish" are allowed, and are the only things allowed.

Initial questioning ends on Saturday 11th November at 10pm GMT, with an extra day given for ministers to answer questions and for follow up questions to be asked.

Results

B249 | Eviction Ban (Northern Ireland) Bill | Final Division

AYE: 53

NO: 4

ABSTAIN: 0

DID NOT VOTE: 33

The bill shall proceed to Royal Assent!

B250 | Electricity Nationalisation (Northern Ireland) Bill | Final Division

AYE: 68

NO: 0

ABSTAIN: 0

DID NOT VOTE: 22

The bill shall proceed to Royal Assent!

B251 | Members' Salaries Reduction Bill | Final Division

AYE: 27

NO: 31

ABSTAIN: 0

DID NOT VOTE: 32

The bill will be thrown out.

B254 | Free Tutoring (Northern Ireland) (Repeal) Bill | Final Division

AYE: 22

NO: 28

ABSTAIN: 0

DID NOT VOTE: 40

The bill will be thrown out.

B253 | Local Government (Community Committee Representation) Bill 2023 | Final Division

AYE: 37

NO: 0

ABSTAIN: 0

DID NOT VOTE: 53

The bill shall proceed to Royal Assent!

We now turn to a free debate. Members may, so long as they do so within the parliamentary procedure, make a statement to this place on whatever topic they so wish. Members are encouraged to debate others' statements as well as make their own.

For instance, a member may make a statement on the merits of devolving energy to this place, and another member may respond to that with a counter. Simultaneously, another member may speak on the downsides of tuition fees as their own statement, to which other members may respond.

There are no limits to what can be debated, though members are requested to not make an excessive amount of statements and to keep it relevant to this place.

This debate shall end at 10pm GMT on Sunday 5th October.

The Minister for Economy, /u/BeppeSignfury is taking questions from the Assembly.

Anyone may each ask up to four initial questions, with one follow-up question to each. (8 in total)

In the first instance, only the minister may respond. "Hear, hear" and "Rubbish" are allowed, and are the only things allowed.

Initial questioning ends on Saturday 4th November at 10pm GMT, with an extra day given for ministers to answer questions and for follow up questions to be asked.

Justice Minister Nomination - October 2023

###Following the resignation of the previous Justice Minister we now move to the nomination of a Justice Minister in the Northern Irish Executive

Electoral system:

The prospective Justice Minister requires a majority of 'Ayes' from both the Nationalist and Unionist communities. Failure to ascertain confidence in either/both of the communities will lead to a failure of the candidate regardless of the final tally.

If multiple candidates are presented, the candidate from the largest party will be presented to the Assembly for a vote of confidence. Should they fail, the candidate from the second largest party will be presented and so forth.

If no single candidate is elected, the Assembly proceedings will be suspended for 2 days for negotiations to occur, after which another vote will take place.

Any candidates wishing to take this position should declare themselves on this thread.

Any questions, message me or any of the Stormont Speakership.

This thread will remain open until the 1st of November at 10PM GMT, at which point a VoC in the chosen candidate will commence.

The Finance Minister, /u/Gregor_The_Beggar is taking questions from the Assembly.

Anyone may each ask up to four initial questions, with one follow-up question to each. (8 in total)

In the first instance, only the minister may respond. "Hear, hear" and "Rubbish" are allowed, and are the only things allowed.

Initial questioning ends on Monday 30th October at 10pm GMT, with an extra day given for ministers to answer questions and for follow up questions to be asked.

We now turn to a free debate. Members may, so long as they do so within the parliamentary procedure, make a statement to this place on whatever topic they so wish. Members are encouraged to debate others' statements as well as make their own.

For instance, a member may make a statement on the merits of devolving energy to this place, and another member may respond to that with a counter. Simultaneously, another member may speak on the downsides of tuition fees as their own statement, to which other members may respond.

There are no limits to what can be debated, though members are requested to not make an excessive amount of statements and to keep it relevant to this place.

This debate shall end at 10pm BST on Saturday 21st October.

The Justice Minister, /u/model-willem is taking questions from the Assembly.

Anyone may each ask up to four initial questions, with one follow-up question to each. (8 in total)

In the first instance, only the minister may respond. "Hear, hear" and "Rubbish" are allowed, and are the only things allowed.

Initial questioning ends on Saturday 21st October at 10pm BST, with an extra day given for ministers to answer questions and for follow up questions to be asked.

Local Government (Community Committee Representation) Bill 2023

A Bill To give local communities guaranteed representation on local government committees

BE IT ENACTED by being passed by the Northern Ireland Assembly and assented to by His Majesty as follows—

Section 1: Amendments to the Local Government Act 2014

(1) Section 11 (2) shall be amended to read as follows-

(2) Subject to this Act, the number of members of a committee appointed under subsection (1), their term of office, and the area (if restricted) within which the committee is to exercise its authority must be fixed by the appointing council or councils or, in the case of a sub-committee, by the appointing committee. This number may not be less than 15 members.

(2) Section 11 (3) shall be repealed

(3) A new Section 13 entitled “Appointment of Community Representatives to Council Committees” shall be added with subsequent sections renumbered and shall read as follows-

(1) A committee appointed under sections 11 or 12, other than a committee for regulating and controlling the finance of the council, must, subject to section 15, include persons who are not members of the appointing council or councils or, in the case of a sub-committee, the council or councils of which it is a sub-committee.

(a) At least 40% of these committees should be made up of community representatives
(i) At least 1 of these representatives should be from youth groups and aged between the ages of 16 and 25
(ii) At least 2 of these representatives should be from groups involved in other aspects of social inclusion
(iii) On each committee at least 3 community representatives must be from groups involved in the subject matter of that committee (ie Climate Action, Community Safety, Economic Development, etc)
(b) Councils should form a network that community groups can join for the purposes of electing community representatives from among themselves
(i) Community groups may be required to operate in a not for profit manner and they may be required to operate within the council area however councils may not implement additional restrictions on membership beyond these

Section 2: Short Title and Commencement

(i) This act may be cited as the Local Government (Community Committee Representation) Act 2023

(ii) This act will come into effect 2 months after receiving Royal Assent.

This bill was written by The Most Honourable Lady model-avery LT LD DBE CT CVO PC MP MLA, Marchioness of Duckington, deputy First Minister, on behalf of the Northern Irish Party

Opening Speech

Speaker,

Reformation of local government has been a long time promise of the NIP, while unfortunately there is not time remaining in the term to introduce the wider ranging aspects of reform, as a result I have decided to kick things off by introducing this piece which guarantees representation for community groups on council committees, which will go a long way in improving representation for ordinary people living.

Community groups bring diverse perspectives, experiences, and ideas to the table. By including them in committees, these processes become more representative of the community as a whole. This helps ensure that the needs every citizen are considered, including those who might be marginalized or underrepresented. They also bring expertise, accountability, and legitimacy to a table of representatives who often times take their positions for granted.

It is important that we start the ball rolling on local government reform, mark my words that this is just the start. I urge my colleagues to vote in favour of this vital legislation.

This reading shall end on the 16th of October at 10pm BST

The First Minister, /u/model-avery, and the deputy First Minister, /u/Zakian3000 are taking questions from the Assembly.

Members may ask up to four initial questions, with one follow-up question to each. (8 in total)

In the first instance, only the ministers may respond. "Hear, hear" and "Rubbish" are allowed, and are the only things allowed.

Initial questioning ends on the 15th of October at 10 pm, with an extra day given for ministers to answer questions and for follow up questions to be asked.

###Free Tutoring (Northern Ireland) (Repeal) Bill

A BILL TO repeal the Free Tutoring (Northern Ireland) Act 2021

BE IT ENACTED by being passed by the Northern Irish Assembly and assented to by His Majesty as follows;

Section 1: Repeals

(1) The [Free Tutoring (Northern Ireland) Act 2021](https://www.reddit.com/r/MHOCStormont/comments/qeedvy/b187_free_tutoring_northern_ireland_bill_2021_3rd/) is hereby repealed in full.

Section 2: Commencement and Short Title

(1) This Act comes into force upon the commencement of the 2025/2026 academic year.

(2) This Act may be cited as the Free Tutoring (Northern Ireland) (Repeal) Act 2023

This Bill was written by the Rt. Hon. Sir Frost_Walker2017, Duke of the Suffolk Coasts, on behalf of the SDLP. It was originally written for the 13th term and has been resubmitted for the 15th term with minor alterations.

Opening Speech:

Speaker,

I rise in support of this bill. While the initial bill is well intentioned, and I at the time amended it significantly, I must maintain my opposition to it.

To me, it is rather like putting a sticking plaster over an infected wound. Sure, it might stem the immediate bleeding, but over time the infection will get worse and it will only be obvious when it’s too late. The original bill has reporting requirements for significant usage of the scheme, granted, but again that can only do so much.

If we are at the point where schools are unable to effectively teach students within the school day, then we are at a breaking point for our education system. By adding state funded extracurricular education in the form of one-on-one tutoring, this covers up the deficiencies in the system that we should instead strive to fix.

Furthermore, in my view, while it is natural to expect some students to do schoolwork or homework in non-school hours to help them learn to manage their time effectively, it should not constitute a replacement for learning in schools. The Free Tutoring Act would permit just that, by taking an extra two hours out of a students’ free time, that they could instead be using to simply be a child, in order to learn things that an effective school environment could teach them during school hours. Even though some students are naturally less academically inclined than some of their cohort, we should instead build a school system that helps those students learn during school hours.

The Free Tutoring Act is an act that, while well intentioned, risks covering up significant deficiencies in the system that may ultimately lead to all pupils suffering later down the line. I urge members to back this bill and focus instead on building a better education system.

This reading shall end at 10pm BST on the 12th of October

Members’ Salaries Reduction Bill

A

BILL

TO

make provision for the reduction of salaries of members of the Northern Ireland Assembly; and for connected purposes.

BE IT ENACTED by being passed by the Northern Ireland Assembly and assented to by His Majesty as follows:

Part 1: Reduction of Salaries

Section 1: Definitions

In this Act–

(1) “member" means a member of the Northern Ireland Legislature; (2) “salary" means the annual amount payable to a member under section 47 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998.

Section 2: Reduction of salaries

(1) The salary of a member shall be reduced from £48,000 to £44,000 per year.

(2) The reduction shall take effect from the next financial year after the passing of this Act.

(2) The reduction shall not affect any pension entitlements or allowances of a member.

Part 2: Miscellaneous

Section 3: Short title and commencement

(1) This Act may be cited as the Members’ Salaries Reduction (Northern Ireland) Act 2023.

(2) This Act shall come into force on the 1st of April 2024.

Section 4: Extent

(1) This Act extends to Northern Ireland only.

This Bill was written by /u/eKyogre, on behalf of People Before Profit.

Opening Speech

Ceann Comhairle,

This bill aims to cut the excessive and unjustified salaries of the members of this Assembly, who are supposed to represent the people but instead, due to their high salaries are closer to serving the interests of the ruling class. This bill, if enacted, will reduce their salaries from £48,000 to £40,000 per year, which is still more than enough for a decent living, and much more than the median income of our citizens which is situated at £30,784 per year.

This bill will enable the government to save public money that can later be used for more urgent and beneficial purposes, such as health, education, housing, and social welfare.

I commend this bill to this House.

—-

This reading shall end on the 9th of October at 10pm BST

B250 | Electricity Nationalisation (Northern Ireland) Bill | Third Reading

A

BILL

TO

provide for the nationalisation of Power NI and its transfer to the ownership and control of the Northern Ireland Executive; to establish a democratic system of governance for Power NI involving workers, consumers and communities; and for connected purposes.

BE IT ENACTED by being passed by the Northern Ireland Assembly and assented to by His Majesty as follows:

Part 1: Acquisition and Delisting of Power NI and Northern Ireland Electricity

Section 1: Acquisition of shares

(1) The relevant department, shall make an offer to acquire all the shares of Power NI Energy Limited (company number NI027394) and its subsidiaries and Northern Ireland Electricity Networks Limited (company number NI026041) and its subsidiaries at a fair price, as determined by an independent valuation body appointed by the Department.

(2) The offer shall be made within one month after the passing of this Act, and shall remain open for acceptance for a period of one month or such longer period as may be prescribed by regulations made by the relevant department.

(3) The offer shall be binding on all shareholders of Power NI Limited, Northern Ireland Electricity Networks Limited and their subsidiaries, whether or not they accept it.

(4) The relevant department shall pay the consideration for the shares within one month after the acceptance or expiry of the offer, whichever is earlier.

(5) The relevant department may borrow money or issue securities for the purpose of financing the acquisition of shares.

Section 2: Delisting from stock market

(1) As soon as practicable after the acquisition of all the shares of Power NI Limited, Northern Ireland Electricity Networks Limited and their subsidiaries, the relevant department shall apply to the relevant stock exchange authority for the delisting of Power NI Limited and its subsidiaries from the stock market.

(2) The relevant department shall take all necessary steps to ensure that Power NI Limited, Northern Ireland Electricity Networks Limited and their subsidiaries cease to be subject to any rules or regulations applicable to listed companies.

(3) The relevant department shall notify all shareholders, directors, auditors and other stakeholders of Power NI Limited, Northern Ireland Electricity Networks Limited and their subsidiaries of the delisting and its implications.

Part 2: Nationalisation and Democratisation of the Electricity sector

Section 3: Transfer of ownership

(1) On the appointed day, all the shares and securities of Power NI Limited, Northern Ireland Electricity Networks Limited and their subsidiaries shall be transferred to and vested in the Department on behalf of the Northern Ireland Executive.

(2) The appointed day shall be such a day as may be specified by order made by the relevant department.

(3) The department shall retain 70% of shares while 30% shall be owned by employees

Section 4: Establishment of public corporation

(1) There shall be established a body corporate to be known as Electricity Northern Ireland (ENI).

(2) The ENI shall have the function of managing and operating the electricity supply business formerly carried on by Power NI Limited, Northern Ireland Electricity Networks Limited and their subsidiaries, and such other functions as may be conferred on it by this Act or any other enactment.

(3) The ENI shall act in accordance with the principles of public service, social responsibility, environmental sustainability, efficiency and economy.

(4) The ENI shall have such powers as may be necessary or expedient for the performance of its functions, including powers to:

(a) generate, purchase, sell, transmit, distribute and supply electricity; (b) enter into contracts and agreements; (c) acquire, hold and dispose of property; (d) borrow money and issue securities; (e) invest funds; (f) charge fees and levies; (g) make grants and loans; (h) employ staff and determine their terms and conditions; and (i) do anything else that is incidental or conducive to its functions.

Section 5: Finances of Northern Ireland Electricity

(1) Electricity Northern Ireland must keep proper accounts and proper records in relation to the accounts.

(2) The Northern Irish Assembly may make grants to Electricity Northern Ireland .

(3) Any excess of Electricity Northern Ireland’s revenues for any financial year over the amount they need to meet their obligations and carrying out their functions shall be transferred into Northern Ireland’s Consolidated Fund.

Part 3: Democratisation of Electricity Sector

Section 6: Composition of ENI board

(1) The ENI shall have a Board of Directors consisting of:

(a) a chairperson appointed by the relevant department; (b) four directors appointed by the relevant department; (c) Five directors elected by the employees of the ENI.

(2) The chairperson and the directors appointed by the Department shall hold office for such term and on such conditions as may be specified by the Department.

(3) The directors elected by the employees of the ENI shall hold office for a term of four years and shall be eligible for re-election.

(4) The board shall elect one of its members as vice-chairperson.

(5) The board shall regulate its own procedure and may delegate any of its functions or powers to a committee or an officer of the ENI.

Part 4: Miscellaneous

Section 7: Regulations

(1) The relevant department may make regulations for the purpose of giving effect to this Act, including regulations prescribing:

(a) the method and frequency of electing or appointing members of boards of directors; (b) the rules of procedure and operation of workers’ councils and boards of directors; (c) the criteria for determining the fair price and compensation for the shares of Power NI Limited, Northern Ireland Electricity Networks Limited and their subsidiaries; (d) the procedures for resolving disputes between labour unions and managements or shareholders; (e) the sanctions for non-compliance with this Act or regulations made under it; and (f) any other matters necessary for carrying out this Act.

Section 8: Short title and commencement

(1) This Act may be cited as the Electricity Nationalisation (Northern Ireland) Act

(2) This Act shall come into force on the passing of this Act.

Section 9: Extent

(1) This Act extends to Northern Ireland only.

This Bill was written by /u/eKyogre and co-written by /u/model-avery on behalf of the executive

Debate under this bill ends at 10pm BST on 2nd October.

Order. Order.

I can now announce the results of the vote of confidence in /u/model-willem to serve as Justice Minister. This vote requires a majority of members of both the nationalist community and the unionist community to vote in favour to pass. As the Ulster Borders Party had not submitted their MLAs prior to the commencement of the vote, their 11 seats were excluded from the total.

I can therefore confirm that /u/model-willem has passed their vote of confidence and will consequently serve as Justice Minister in the 27th Northern Irish Executive!

We now turn to a free debate. Members may, so long as they do so within the parliamentary procedure, make a statement to this place on whatever topic they so wish. Members are encouraged to debate others' statements as well as make their own.

For instance, a member may make a statement on the merits of devolving energy to this place, and another member may respond to that with a counter. Simultaneously, another member may speak on the downsides of tuition fees as their own statement, to which other members may respond.

There are no limits to what can be debated, though members are requested to not make an excessive amount of statements and to keep it relevant to this place.

This debate shall end at 10pm BST on Thursday 28th September.

###The Assembly shall now move to appoint Ministers to the Northern Ireland Executive.

Party leaders shall be invited in order of D'Hondt allocation to nominate one MLA at a time to a vacant Ministry by replying to the relevant comment below. The makeup of the Executive is as follows:

Therefore, using the D'Hondt method, the order of the allocation shall be:

1. Northern Ireland Party
2. People Before Profit
3. Social Democratic and Labour Party
4. Northern Ireland Party
5. People Before Profit
6. Ulster Borders Party
7. Social Democratic and Labour Party

The following positions are available, and will be struck through as members are nominated to them:

• Minister of Finance
• Minister for Infrastructure
• Minister for Agricultural, Environmental, and Rural Affairs
• Minister for the Economy
• Minister for Communities
• Minister of Health
• Minister of Education

Nominations ought to be made by the time a Justice Minister is nominated and elected.

###We now move to the nomination of a Justice Minister in the Northern Irish Executive

Electoral system:

The prospective Justice Minister requires a majority of 'Ayes' from both the Nationalist and Unionist communities. Failure to ascertain confidence in either/both of the communities will lead to a failure of the candidate regardless of the final tally.

If multiple candidates are presented, the candidate from the largest party will be presented to the Assembly for a vote of confidence. Should they fail, the candidate from the second largest party will be presented and so forth.

If no single candidate is elected, the Assembly proceedings will be suspended for 2 days for negotiations to occur, after which another vote will take place.

Any candidates wishing to take this position should declare themselves on this thread.

Any questions, message me or any of the Stormont Speakership.

This thread will remain open until Wednesday 20th September at 10PM BST, at which point a VoC in the chosen candidate will commence.

Good evening.

As we do not have an Executive, a topic debate has been tabelled on a topical issue.

The topic debated today shall be:

What steps should be taken to adapt Northern Ireland in light of the climate crisis?

(With thanks to /u/Muffin5136 for suggesting this one!)

Members are encouraged to debate one another's views, but are reminded to keep things respectful and on topic.

This session shall end at 10pm BST on Thursday 21st September.

Feel free to keep suggestions coming - either by modmailing them or raising them in #stormont-questions in the devolved server.

Good evening.

As we do not have an Executive, a topic debate has been tabelled on a topical issue.

The topic debated today shall be:

Is the system of 'mandatory coalition' still necessary for Northern Ireland?

^(With thanks to /u/Muffin5136 for suggesting this one!)

Members are encouraged to debate one another's views, but are reminded to keep things respectful and on topic.

This session shall end at 10pm BST on Friday 15th September.

Another topic debate shall be posted on Thursday. Feel free to keep suggestions coming - either by modmailing them or raising them in #stormont-questions in the devolved server.

Order! Order!

It is now time for the parties of the Executive to nominate the First Minister and deputy First Minister to the Executive Office and formally begin the new Executive.

The make-up of the Assembly is as follows:

Nomination of the First Minister

As the largest party of the Assembly, the nominating officer of the Northern Ireland Party, presumed to be /u/model-avery, is invited to nominate an MLA to take the position of First Minister.

Nomination of the Nationalist deputy First Minister

As the largest party of the second largest designation (Nationalist), the nominating officer of People Before Profit, presumed to be /u/Zakian3000, is invited to nominate an MLA to take the position of Nationalist deputy First Minister.

Nominating officers must make their nominations in the thread below.

Nominations must be made by 10pm BST on Sunday 17th September, else the Assembly shall be dissolved for an extraordinary general election.

All prospective MLAs are required to sign the Roll of Office, which includes denoting which designation you wish to be in for the Assembly. The options are:

• Unionist
• Nationalist
• Other

Anything given outside of those 3 options will be deemed 'Other'.

MLAs must also pick a constituency to represent. These are the same as the IRL constituencies.

Party leaders should also let speakership know how they want their MLAs votes to be weighted. This can be done by modmailing a list of their approved MLAs to the subreddit.

The first division of the term, voting on the Minister for Justice, will start at latest one week from now. Members should nevertheless swear in as soon as possible in order to be able to vote on this.

English Template:

I am (username), Other/Nationalist/Unionist, and I will represent (constituency).

Gaelic Template:

tá mé (username), Eile/Náisiúnach/Aontachtach (other/nationalist/unionist), agus déanfaidh mé ionadaíocht a dhéanamh ar (Constituency).

Ulster Scots Template:

Ma name be (username), Ither/Nashunalist/Unionist, an I wull reprysent (constituency)

Welcome, all to the Leaders Debate for the 15th Northern Ireland Assembly Election. I will shortly be inviting all candidates to give an opening statement, but before I do let me go over the rules and participants of this debate.

All party leaders and independent candidates will have 48 hours to post an opening statement. That should be done under the comment from myself or a member of my speakership team below. All participants are expected to give such a statement. Debate may take place underneath those statements once posted.

Throughout the seven days of debate, party leaders may, and are expected, to ask questions of each other, and members of the public may ask top-level questions, but it is for participants within the debates, ie leaders and independent candidates, to debate and ask follow-up questions. This will be monitored and comments deleted if necessary.

Initial questions must be asked before 10 pm on the 4th of September. Initial questions asked after that will be deleted. It is in the leader's best interests to respond to questions in such a way that there is time for cross-party engagement and follow-up debate. The more discussion and presence in the debate, the better - but ensure that quality and decorum come first. I remind all participants that this is a debate and not a Q&A session.

At 10 pm on the 4th of September, I will invite candidates to give a closing statement under a new stickied comment. Participants will then have 48 hours to give such a statement. In order to add to the realism of the whole thing, debate under those comments will not be marked and efforts should be channeled elsewhere. The debate shall end at 10pm on the 6th of September.

The candidates are as follows

Leader of the People Before Profit Party — u/zakien3000

Leader of the Northern Ireland Party — u/model-avery

Leader of the Social Democrats and Labour Party — u/Frost_Walker2017

Leader of Cumann Na bhFiann — u/realbassist

Leader of the Ulster Borders Party — u/gregor_the_beggar

Please note that this debate contributes to the overall result of the election, and you are strongly encouraged to use this as an opportunity to question the records, manifestos, and future plans of the parties running in this election.

CANDIDATES ARE REMINDED THIS IS A DEBATE AND NOT A Q&

Good afternoon,

My apologies for the delay in posting this.

We now turn to a free debate. Members may, so long as they do so within the parliamentary procedure, make a statement to this place on whatever topic they so wish. Members are encouraged to debate others' statements as well as make their own.

For instance, a member may make a statement on the merits of devolving energy to this place, and another member may respond to that with a counter. Simultaneously, another member may speak on the downsides of tuition fees as their own statement, to which other members may respond.

There are no limits to what can be debated, though members are requested to not make an excessive amount of statements and to keep it relevant to this place.

This free debate shall end on the 27th August at 10pm BST, or upon the dissolution of the assembly if that date is sooner.

Good morning.

As we still do not have an Executive, another topic debate has been tabelled on a recent topical issue.

The topic tabelled today shall be:

Whether the Police Service of Northern Ireland requires further reform after the recent data leaks, in order to minimise risks to those serving.

Members are encouraged to debate one another's views, but are reminded to keep things respectful and on topic.

This session shall end at 10pm BST on the 23rd August.