Live Blogging: Those D'Hondt positions - now filled #NIAssembly

Today the Assembly is deciding the ministers for the next Northern Ireland Executive.

So just a reminder of the agreed order on Friday and I'll fill in who as we go along

DUP Department of Finance and Personel An Roinn Fiontar, Trádála agus Infheistíochta Sammy Wilson 

No surprise here having held the position in the last Assembly. However, Peter  Robinson has said that the position is only for two years for the MP and MLA and that he is to be replaced by Strangford's Simon Hamilton in two years time.

Sinn Féin Department of Education An Roinn Oideachais John O'Dowd

The Upper Bann MLA is taking over from the long line of Sinn Féin Ministers for Education. He replaces Catríona Ruane in the department that Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness initially held. The rumours that McGuinness has long wanted to replace Ruane with someone less controversial. The head of the Sinn Féin council group on Craigavon council we will see how hard the second term MLA will be pressing for the party policy of  Irish language education. DUP

DUP Department of Enterprise Trade and Investment An Roinn Fiontar, Trádála agus Infheistíochta Arlene Foster

A return to my old department for Arlene, who was moved there in 2008 from the Environment brief. The DUP had said they had campaigned strongly on the economy and once again they have secured the two offices that deal with the econimic issues that face Northern Ireland. If between Arlene and Sammy/Simon they don't give Northern Ireland as good if not better return out of the hard times the DUP maay well suffer at the polls in four years time as a result.

UUP Department of Regional Development An Roinn Forbartha Réigiúnaí Danny Kennedy

The only seat on the executive is for the Newry and Armagh representative. Danny for Minister for Employment and Learning in the last Assembly a position he took up when Lord Empey stood down as leader in 2010 after the disasterous Westminster elections. Before that he had been chair of the OFMdFM scrutiny committtee. He inherits the issues with Northern Ireland Water that caused mayhem last December, which is propably going to be the first issue he looks into when he gets to his new desk.

Sinn Féin Department of Agriculture and Rural Development An Roinn Talmhaíochta agus Forbartha Tuaithe Michelle O'Neill

The Mid Ulster MLA certain represents one of the most rural and agriculture based parts of Northern Ireland. She replaces her neighbouring Sinn Féin representative Michelle Gildernew in the Department. She is a keen supporter of rural regeneration and has recently been involved in the establishment of a Clonoe Community Regeneration group, expect to carry on the work that was well respected by Gildernew.Currently also the Mayor of Dungannon and South Tyrone.

SDLP Department of the Environment An Roinn Comhshaoil Alex Attwood

The West Belfast MLA moves from Social Development, where he succeeded Margaret Ritchie when she became leader. The sole SDLP representative takes on the Environment portfolio. The first nationalist to do so, it having been held by the UUP and DUP before him. Whether he will join his South Belfast colleague Conall McDevitt in cycling from the constituency office, to his Departmental Office in Adelaide Street and on to Stormont is yet to be seen.  

DUP Department of Social Development An Roinn Forbartha Sóisialta Nelson McCausland

Moves from Culture, Arts and Leisure where he called on the Ulster Museum to display creationist and anti-evolution displays alongside the other exhibits, and complained used of the f-word in the production of Black Watch, which sparked comments from former and serving officers that the use of the word was far less than in reality. As minister responsiblw for housing as well as urban regeneration, it has yet to be seen if he will help his colleagues in finance by moving towards integrated housing projects rather than carrying on the policy of secregation.  

Sinn Féin Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure An Roinn Cultúir, Ealaíon agus Fóillíochta Carál Ní Chuilín

A minister who is likely to get the sharp end of Jim Allister's tongue having served time for explosives offences. Again it is the first time that a non-Unionist has held this ministry. Key issues are how the promotion of all cultures will be represented by the Sinn Féin minister, who will obviously be pushing to implement what her party see as an Irish Act. Also the issue of a national stadium for all sports Football, Rugby and Gaelic Games falls under her purview, we will see if this is moved forward.  

DUP Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety An Roinn Sláinte, Seirbhísí Sóisialta agus Sábháilteachta Poiblí Edwin Poots

Previous experience at DCAL before he resigned from that post, but returned to Minisrterial responsibilty at the Department of the Environment in 2009. Health was seen by many to have been the poisoned challace, was held by the UUP in the last executive. The fact that it was taken ninth and last of the DUP's allocation may speak volumes about it. It is the deparatment with the biggest budget and therefore under current financial restraints probably the toughest balancing act of all. The DUP promised they would take this along with the Finance Departments so that the right balance could be struck. But it is the most emotive department to the average voter and any mess up here could be punished.  

Alliance Department of Employment and Learning An Roinn Fostaíochta agus Foghlama Stephen Farry

For the first time there is a fifth party represented in the ten departments allocated by d'Hondt. The Alliance have given employment and learning to Dr Stephen Farry.Whether a PhD in International Relations will help with employment relations and further and higher education has yet to be seen. But it is a reward for the man who is behind a lot of the policy making that has led to the Alliance party making significant gains in the polls this time. He does have the issue of student finance to deal with. His party didn't rule out any increase in student fees but will do what they can to avoid the situation that has happened in England and Wales.

Further to above as the DUP end double jobbing in two years time the two MPs with DUP ministerial portfolios are to be replaced. Sammy Wilson by Simon Hamilton and Edwin Poots by Jim Wells.

My new MLAs -how they got there and what it means #ndo11 #ae11

I was sitting around near the North Down Alliance team, augmented by Brian Wilson and the DUP's Peter Weir as they accumulated their tallies on Friday morning after verification.

Even then it was clear that Peter along with his party colleagues Alex Easton and Gordon Dunne were going to get elected. Stephen Farry of the Alliance also looked safe it was a matter of where the other two seats would go. The UUP were looking like they didn't have a full quota (4015 is turned out) between them, the two independent Alans, McFarland, the former UUP MLA looking to be returned now he was independent, and Chambers. Or would the Alliance manage to get a second in with Anne Wilson or would the Green's manage to replace her husband with Steven Agnew.

It was all tense stuff. The main concern was how the DUP transfers would go. A lot of DUP papers appeared to have just 1,2,3 and no further preference but others did transfer. The other thing was how would the independent Unionist votes transfer and most worryingly for the UUP would they still be in the race if one of the independents got eliminated.

The breakdown of the results was:

DUP 3 candidates 3.1 quotas
Alliance 2 candidates 1.3 quotas
UUP 2 candidates 0.7 quotas
Green 1candidate 0.55 quotas
Alan McFarland 0.46 quotas
Alan Chambers 0.44 quotas

Others 3 candidates (SDLP, UKIP, Sinn Féin) 0.42 quotas

It was going to be tight. Agnew was just 107 first preferences ahead of Anne Wilson to come 5th. But that once the DUP managed to get there three in on one on the first round and the other two on the allocation of Easton's surplus in the second round it was the unionist block of 1.6 quotas that made it unlikely that both Wilson and Agnew would make it. So although it was unclead which unionist made it as well there was a fight on for the sixth seat between the Alliance and Greens and it was going to be tight. Problem for me now was that it looked like my top three preferences were going to only secure two seats.

When both the Alans were eliminated it pushed Leslie Cree over the quota securing the UUP one seat and then it was down to his surplus. The transfer of that ended up giving Agnew the edge maintaining a Green representative at Stormont.

However, it does throw up interesting permitations for the Executive. The UUP are on 16 seats they secured Cree's seat from 9th place in the first preferences. Though you are not going to get me suddenly defending First Past the post that saw DUP 1,2,3, Alliance 4 and 6 with Greens 5. If Anne Wilson had of won her seat that would have been 9 Alliance. Therefore under D'Hondt the second UUP seat (the final seat to be allocated*). Eight the half of the UUP seats (having already secured one minister) will be equal to the 8 seats held by the Alliance. The tie break is votes again divided as by D'Hondt. There the UUP's 87, 531 is divided by 2 making 43,765 again less than the Alliance's 50,875, therefore earning David Ford another seat.

The UUP are however flirting with David McClarty the former deputy speaker and member of their party who stood as an independent after failing to be selected in East Londonderry. He managed to get 73 first preferences more than the two UUP candidates and get re-elected where either of them failed to do. But this is a case of where the people did have a option of voting for an official party candidate and didn't do so. What would have happened in North Down if instead of Cree getting in another former UUP MLA Alan McFarland had got elected, would it then have been them that they were courting. Or what if Wilson and McFarland had got in instead of Cree and Agnew this would all have just been a series of what ifs in the final rounds of counting in Newtownards on Saturday that would have been eventually forgotten.

* The order will be DUP, Sinn Féin, DUP, UUP, SF, SDLP, DUP, SF, DUP, Alliance

Good Kickstart to the Campaign

Seeing that it was only on Wednesday night that I was called and offered the post of Northern Ireland campaign manager for the YES! TO FAIRER VOTES campaign a lot has been done.

I attended two party events and as a result have managed to speak to representatives of five of the Northern Irish political parties. The first of these was a quiz night on behalf of my own local Association of the Alliance Party here in North Down along with their neighbours in Strangford. Michael Carchrie Campbell and myself did form a team, yes just the two of us, which managed to hold our own considering the comparative size of the teams.

Of course the main reason for us being there was to introduce the campaign and to get signatures of support from members of one of the parties that is keen to help us the Yes result next May. So thanks to Michael Carchrie Campbell for printing off some flyers and business cards for me, we were armed to start getting the army of volunteers that we need. If anyone is holding a local party event and wants literature or sign-up sheets like the ones we were using please get in touch and we will get this sorted out.

Being in educated at school level across the two constituencies it was good to make my opening public remarks of the campaign amongst neighbours. It was also good to see and talk with two of my own MLAs there the Alliance's Stephen Farry as well as the Green Party's Brian Wilson, who was that with his wife Anne Wilson. Now I have to go to the ends of Northern Ireland to spread it further.

The second was an event that I mentioned in my interview only on Monday as being a key place that the successful applicant would have to be present. So off I went along with Michael again to the Ramada Hotel near Shaw Bridge for the SDLP party conference.

I had a productive time talking to many of the key people within the party including getting a brief moment with the leader Margaret Ritchie. However, I had a longer chat with other MPs, MLAs and councillors, getting a lot of positive feedback from them as well as many of the members at the conference. We also took advantage of the exhibition to present ourselves to many of the key players in Northern Ireland including the Northern Ireland Local Government Association, Northern Ireland Community Volunteers Association, Women's Resource and Development Agency, Disability Action, National Union of Students NI, Age NI - Older People's Commission.

Interesting seeing some familiar faces and as is the way with political activists everywhere, the occasion changing of political hats mid conversation.

It has been a great day, meeting with so many of the influencers within the SDLP and to see the positivity with which they are greeting the Yes campaign here in Northern Ireland.

I look forward over the next six months to working with them and everyone else from all sectors of Northern Ireland life to bring about Fairer Votes for Westminster.

All in all it has been a very productive few days not just on these visible public events but also behind the scenes in drawing a plan together as to how to get the work done that needs to be done between now and May 5th.

Seeing as I am still working my notice for my current employer I am indebted to amount of time and effort that Michael has put in already, often alongside me into the small hours, in getting this campaign off to as successful a start as it has been.

Alliance Party Reaction to the Saville Report

I've been a wee bit busy myself to actually look into the Saville report in depth. I have the Independent to gorge on later with 10 pages of coverage. However, overall it does appear to have cleared up 38 years of lies and the injustice that the Widgery report laid on the victims and their families.

Alliance Party Justice Spokesperson* Stephen Farry MLA issued the following statement:

"The party welcomes the outcome and conclusions of the Saville Inquiry. While the detail of the report will require serious scrutiny it is clear that this report confirms what has been understood for decades, that those killed by British forces on Bloody Sunday were completely innocent.

"It was right that Bloody Sunday was properly investigated and the rogue conclusions of Widgery consigned to the dustbin of history. The families and surviving victims have been vindicated in their campaign to secure justice, one which they have pursued with dignity and determination for many years.

"While not diminishing the widespread hurt and demands for truth and justice from all victims of violence, Bloody Sunday raises unique issues relating to the abuse of power and the breach of the rule of law by the state.

"This report closes one chapter, but in doing so, raises new questions as to what happens now. Any prosecutions will be considered independently by the Public Prosecution Service and will have to meet both the public interest and evidential tests.

"There are issues regarding the cost and the scale of the Bloody Sunday Inquiry and any future investigations. The British Government has ruled out future inquiries but has not provided any indication of what it would put in their place. There is an outstanding need for a comprehensive approach to dealing with the legacy of the past in a manner which promotes reconciliation and builds a shared future. While far from perfect, Alliance did consider that the bulk of the Eames-Bradley proposals provided the basis for such a process. At best Eames-Bradley has been parked and there is no indication from the UK government as to how they intend to fill this void.

"Given the polarizing nature of the debate over the last number of years it is important that politicians on all sides are considered in what they say. We need to avoid using victims as weapons in a war of words if we are to build a shared future, nor should the Saville Report be used to undermine more widely the very good work done by the army in many other circumstances."

In the Commons chamber Paul Durkin the SDLP MP for Foyle said:

"However, perhaps the most important and poignant words from today will not be heard here or on the airwaves. Relatives will stand at the graves of victims and their parents to tell of a travesty finally arrested, of innocence vindicated and of promises kept, and as they do so, they can invoke the civil rights anthem when they say, 'We have overcome. We have overcome this day.'"

However, as the son of a son of Derry I was quite appalled by some of the unionist reaction. Gregory Campbell DUP (East Londonderry) wanted to draw the attention to the 2 policemen killed 3 days before, and calling for a investigation into the alleged 'state funding' of the IRA from the Republic of Ireland. Whilst I knew that 'parts of the city [of Derry] "lay in ruins"' before that day as he also said. Jeffrey Donaldson, William McCrae and Ian Paisley junior each raised further issues along such lines.

There is a matter that the previous government ignored the will of the House by announcing things outside it. The fact that David Cameron brought such a weighty report to the House itself first was hopefully a sign of the authority of the chamber. Therefore the point of order raised by Paisley at the end, when a debate in the Autumn on the report was already announced about the lack of preview copies seemed petulant. Yesterday wasn't the day for a full debate into the minutiae as the Unionists wanted to do, but to talk about the general reaction to the key findings. No doubt come the autumn Paisley and the DUP ranks will be fully versed in the ins and outs of the report.

*And the MLA for my home seat of North Down