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A blog from the Northern Ireland Assembly Research and Information Service

Governance Blog Archive

Here you will find an archive of Governance Blog articles published before 1 May 2022, divided into their relevant categories.

Brexit

Map showing the impact of the Protocol, the IMA and Joint Committee declaration on NI to GB trade in goods, compiled by RaISe
This blog article complements the Assembly Research and Information Paper Internal Market Act 2020 and the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland. It explains Northern Ireland’s post-Brexit trading arrangements. including how…
An abstract image depicting GDPR
This article examines the UK’s exit from the EU in the context of data protection, and highlights the considerations that will apply as the UK considers the costs, benefits…
An image showing EU and Union flags, facing in opposite directions
 The Ireland/Northern Ireland Protocol is part of the Withdrawal Agreement, and was designed to deal with the effect of the UK’s exit from the EU on the island of…

Democracy and Government

A photo showing the Chairperson (Kellie Armstrong MLA) and Deputy Chairperson (Megan Fearon MLA) of the Northern Ireland Assembly Women's Caucus (photo courtesy of Politics Plus)
Please note that more up-to-date statistics on gender representation can be found in the RaISe research paper Who Runs Northern Ireland? A Summary of Statistics Relating to Gender and…
A photograph of the Houses of Parliament
A high profile consequence of the continuing failure to establish an Executive and fully functioning Assembly was the legislative passage this week of the Northern Ireland (Executive Formation and…
An image of the Northern Ireland Assembly Library
This week is Libraries Week so we thought we would provide an insight into the Northern Ireland Assembly Library, its work and the collection that it manages. The Assembly…

Justice

Image by Professor Glenn D Wilson, used under Creative Commons
Mutual recognition and co-operation underpin many EU law provisions. This article looks at some of the legislative options for one particular provision following Brexit; the European Arrest Warrant (EAW)….
After FDAC: A recent report on the outcomes of family drug and alcohol courts in England
The draft Programme for Government contains a commitment to running a pilot family drug and alcohol court in Northern Ireland. Such courts have been used in England for some…
The Flag of Europe (Image: Bob, under Creative Commons)
The past seven days have seen significant developments in relation to EU referendum related action in the courts at both local and UK level. This article provides an update…

Planning

The merging of environment and agriculture
Local government underwent significant structural change in 2015 with the number of councils reducing from 26 to 11, and the transfer of many functions from central to local government….

Statistics and Geographic Information Systems (GIS)

A line graph showing the number of COVID-19 vaccinations
By Aaron McMurray & James Bamford This dashboard has been prepared by the Assembly Research and Information Service (RaISe) to visualise data describing the spread of COVID-19 in Northern…
A black and white image showing a row of glasses and a bottle
Overview The latest figures published by the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) (February 2021) show that the number of alcohol-specific deaths in 2019 was the highest ever…
A screenshot showing the distribution of foodbanks in NI
Foodbanks are an increasingly useful resource for many in Northern Ireland. They provide a valuable service to communities and are continually helping to feed those in need. An interactive…