Coulter welcomes Legislation Pledge
Rev Dr Robert Coulter, the Ulster Unionist Party Assembly member for North Antrim and UUP Stormont Commissioner, has welcomed the commitment from one of the Executive’s junior ministers that a programme of legislation will come before the Assembly “in a matter of days”.
Assemblyman Dr Coulter made his remarks after supporting a successful Stormont motion calling on the Executive Committee to produce before the Hallowe’en recess, an Executive legislative programme detailing executive business for the current Assembly session.
He added: “The Ulster Unionist Party has called for an improved balance of business in the Assembly and for responsibility in legislation – and I am very pleased about the junior minister’s commitment that a programme of draft legislation will be before MLAs in a matter of days.
“It is imperative the junior minister honours this commitment on draft legislation because failure to do so will only fuel the perception in some public quarters this Assembly is a joke.
“The balance of business is important not only for the work of the Assembly, but also for the respectibility of the Assembly.
“Unfortunately, the current balance is not right as the figures show that non-Executive business, including private members’ business, now accounts for about two-thirds of what the Assembly does.
“One way forward for the Executive would be for past legislation to be revised by the Stormont committees. The UUP has been constantly calling for the need to move the legislation forward.
“In spite of the past summer recess, we would have expected a significant amount of draft legislation to have come before the Assembly. Instead, we have not even had a trickle, let alone a flood. This Executive appears to be suffering from legislative drought.
“The Assembly must begin the proper work of Government and must get legislation on the table – that’s what the UUP has been calling for.
“The two main Executive parties have claimed they needed a number of weeks to hit the ground running once it was formed. The reality is, we are still waiting to get the race started for the people of Northern Ireland,” said Assemblyman Dr Coulter.