---

Northern Ireland Act 2000 (Modification) (No. 2) Order 2006

rose to move, That the Grand Committee do report to the House that it has considered the Northern Ireland Act 2000 (Modification) (No. 2) Order 2006 [28th Report from the Joint Committee]. The noble Lord said: As noble Lords will be aware, on 15 October 2002 the Northern Ireland Assembly was suspended. That suspension has continued and it has therefore been necessary for the Government to exercise responsibility for transferred matters and to maintain power to legislate by Order in Council. This has always been a matter for strong regret and is a practice which all of us wish to see ended as soon as possible. The present power, as agreed by the House, expires on 14 October 2006; the order we are considering today provides for a further six-month renewal of these powers to 14 April 2007. Given that it is already the middle of June and the House will not return from the long Recess until 11 October, it would be impractical and a high-risk strategy to leave the renewal of the order until the day we come back. There could be a suspension; nothing is certain in this world. The Secretary of State is required to sign the order after both Houses have approved it, but he may not be in the country. Therefore it is being dealt with now as it was in July last year, which was the first occasion on which I was responsible for it. Of course, this is the eighth occasion on which the order has come before the House. All are agreed that Northern Ireland is governed best when it is governed by locally elected politicians. Northern Ireland will be best served by Members of the Assembly representing the interests of their constituents and justifying their mandate, which they cannot do at the moment because they are not doing the job they were elected to do. The opportunity now stands before them to take up the mandate, and no one should be in any doubt as to the great prize which full devolution will bring. The clock is ticking towards the 24 November midnight deadline by which the recalled Assembly Members must select a First Minister, Deputy First Minister and Executive. As we have said before, it will be no good for people to say on the afternoon or evening of that date that they need one more day. It is not possible. The deadline is midnight on 24 November and that is that. Everyone knows that and no one should be under any illusions about it. It has been made clear both in this House and in the other place when the legislation went through. We sincerely hope that this is the last occasion on which a Minister will have to bring forward this order to the House. We have made it abundantly clear that we will not stand in the way. Assembly Members may come back at any time they wish between now and 24 November and we would much prefer it if they do that. In the mean time we will carry on legislating. We have made it clear that we will carry on minding the shop while they make up their minds. The reforms in Northern Ireland are much needed. It is a regrettable necessity and I accept that it is far from satisfactory to legislate by Order in Council. All sides agree on that. It is difficult for those interested in Northern Ireland orders to bring themselves up to speed. However, we are open to discussion, but the consideration of both Houses is needed and it probably would not be possible to introduce a unique procedure wholly different from that used in the other place. However, I repeat the invitation of the Secretary of State to all the opposition Front Benches that we remain open to suggestions for a way to be found to deal with Orders in Council in a more satisfactory way. The focus is of course the objective that we will not need to legislate by Order in Council if Members of the Northern Ireland Assembly get back and do their job before 24 November. That would remove from the House the burden of legislating in this way. Therefore this is an opportunity which we hope the Assembly Members will grasp, but for the moment we must continue to bear the responsibility because the risk through waiting until 11 October that it could not be done in time is too high. I understand that the other House will look at the order during the first week of July, after which the Secretary of State is required to sign it. We want to avoid the risk of creating a gap because the Orders in Council and direct rule powers will come to an end on 14 October. I beg to move. Moved, That the Grand Committee do report to the House that it has considered the Northern Ireland Act 2000 (Modification) (No. 2) Order 2006 [28th Report from the Joint Committee].—(Lord Rooker.)