It’s some 16 years since the then SDLP leader Mark Durkan spoke of the need to “to remove some of the ugly scaffolding” of the Stormont institutions. It was an acknowledgement, from one of the Good Friday Agreement’s key architects, that the cumbersome structures derived from the accord were not set in stone.
Tánaiste Micheál Martin didn’t so much reignite the debate on Wednesday in the Dáil as pick-up on a theme that is becoming increasingly pervasive.
With the recently-restored power-sharing institutions in place for only two of the past seven years, there’s a very apparent desire to ensure their future is sustainable. There have also been some significant electoral shifts since 1998, most notably the rise of the centre ground, and many believe Stormont’s structures should reflect these.
Arguably, the most pressing matter to be addressed is the ability of either the largest designated nationalist party, or the corresponding unionist party, to bring down the institutions by walking out the executive, as Sinn Féin did in 2017 and the DUP in 2022.
Relatively new legislation means there’ll be a six month cooling-off period rather than immediate collapse, however, once that expires there’ll be an election or we’ll be back to the sort of ‘indirect rule’ scenario that prevailed from February 2020 to earlier this month.
Opposition leader Matthew O’Toole has sought a pledge from the first and deputy first ministers that they won’t collapse the institutions but at the time of writing he’s yet to receive a written guarantee.
Another often-cited potential reform is the changing of the titles ‘first minister’ and ‘deputy first minister’ to better reflect the equal status of the roles.
With some justification, Sinn Féin may suggest the goal posts are being moved because for the first time in history a republican is first minister. It’s worth recalling, however, that the late Martin McGuinness said he would recommend the leader’s appellations be changed, insisting he wasn’t fixated by “fancy titles”.
As Westminster’s Northern Ireland Affairs Committee noted in its recent report, there are numerous tweaks and modifications that could potentially be made, if the political appetite is there. It’s worth noting, however, that the two DUP MPs who sit on the committee did not endorse the report. Stormont’s ‘big two’ appear content with the status quo.
As the tánaiste said, a discussion about reform would be welcome but given that most of the current structures work to the advantage of the two biggest parties, don’t expect movement any time soon. That said, there’s nothing wrong with exploring the options and seeing which are most likely to gain support.
Reform will likely come one day, so best make a start on building a consensus.