The Stormont House Agreement is a political accommodation between the British and Irish governments, and a majority of parties that make up the

Northern Ireland Executive The Northern Ireland Executive is the devolved government of Northern Ireland, an administrative branch of the legislature – the Northern Ireland Assembly. It is answerable to the assembly and was initially established according to the ...

. The agreement was published on 23 December 2014. The Stormont House Agreement is intended to bind the parties and communities closer together on resolving identity issues, coming to a settlement on welfare reform, and on making government finance in Northern Ireland more sustainable. After ten weeks of further talks, it led to the Fresh Start Agreement in November 2015, which aimed to secure the full implementation of the Stormont House Agreement and to deal with the impact of continued paramilitary activity. The agreement was named after the building where the negotiations took place;

Stormont House Stormont House (also called Speaker's House) is the headquarters of the Northern Ireland Office, situated in the Stormont Estate in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It was designed by Ralph Knott, although Sir Edwin Lutyens has been credited with s ...

, the provincial headquarters of the

Northern Ireland Office The Northern Ireland Office (NIO; ga, Oifig Thuaisceart Éireann, Ulster-Scots: ''Norlin Airlann Oaffis'') is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for Northern Ireland affairs. The NIO is led by the Secretary of State for N ...

. The talks were primarily chaired by the

Secretary of State for Northern Ireland A secretary, administrative professional, administrative assistant, executive assistant, administrative officer, administrative support specialist, clerk, military assistant, management assistant, office secretary, or personal assistant is a w ...

Theresa Villiers Theresa Anne Villiers (born 5 March 1968) is a British politician who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Chipping Barnet since 2005, having previously served as a Member of the European Parliament from 1999 to 2005. A member of the ...

, though Irish foreign minister

Charles Flanagan Charlie Flanagan (born 1 November 1956) is an Irish Fine Gael politician who has been a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Laois–Offaly constituency since 2020, and previously from 1987 to 2002, 2007 to 2016 and from 2016 to 2020 for the Laois con ...

, British Prime Minister

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and Irish Taoiseach

Enda Kenny Enda Kenny (born 24 April 1951) is an Irish former Fine Gael politician who served as Taoiseach from 2011 to 2017, Leader of Fine Gael from 2002 to 2017, Minister for Defence from May to July 2014 and 2016 to 2017, Leader of the Opposition fro ...

also participated at various points. The agreement came after approximately thirty hours of continuous, final-stage talks. Prior to the agreement, there had been an increasing feeling that the Northern Ireland Executive and Assembly were in danger of collapse.

Background

In the aftermath of the

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and

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agreements which brought and restored devolution to Northern Ireland, several issues remained unresolved by the political parties. Issues relating to the legacy of

The Troubles The Troubles ( ga, Na Trioblóidí) were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it is sometimes described as an "i ...

, including victims’ rights and investigation of historic criminal activity, had not been the subject of compromise between the Unionist and Nationalist communities. Ongoing division also surrounded issues of identity, including

Orange Order The Loyal Orange Institution, commonly known as the Orange Order, is an international Protestant fraternal order based in Northern Ireland and primarily associated with Ulster Protestants, particularly those of Ulster Scots people, Ulster Sco ...

parades and the flying of flags (which had manifested itself in the

Belfast City Hall flag protests On 3 December 2012, Belfast City Council voted to limit the days that the Union Flag (the flag of the United Kingdom) flies from Belfast City Hall.Richard Haass and Professor

Meghan O'Sullivan Meghan L. O'Sullivan (born September 13, 1969) is a former deputy national security adviser on Iraq and Afghanistan. She is Jeane Kirkpatrick Professor of the Practice of International Affairs at Harvard Kennedy School and a board member of the Be ...

. These talks began in September 2013, and broke up on 31 December of that year without agreement. Several other ongoing political contentions were also resolved by the Stormont House Agreement. These include the devolution of

Corporation Tax A corporate tax, also called corporation tax or company tax, is a direct tax imposed on the income or capital of corporations or analogous legal entities. Many countries impose such taxes at the national level, and a similar tax may be imposed a ...

to Northern Ireland. Within Northern Ireland there has been an all-party consensus on the need to devolve corporation tax to allow the Province to compete for business with the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. ...

. This is because the Republic of Ireland's rate of tax is 12.5%, considerably lower than the UK rate of 20%, which Northern Ireland businesses currently pay. Welfare reform was also the subject of extensive disagreement between elements of the Executive (notably Sinn Féin), and the UK Government. HM Treasury had been determined that Northern Ireland should adopt the welfare reform, and had imposed fines on the Executive for their failure to do so. Within the Executive the parties were split. Whilst Sinn Féin had opposed passing welfare reform, the

Democratic Unionist Party The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) is a unionist, loyalist, and national conservative political party in Northern Ireland. It was founded in 1971 during the Troubles by Ian Paisley, who led the party for the next 37 years. Currently led by J ...

had attempted to do so, arguing that it was inevitable, and that failure to do so would incur further fines from London. A primary aim of the Stormont House Agreement, particularly from the perspective of the UK Government, was to resolve the welfare dispute, and have reform passed.

Contents of agreement

The agreement was omnibus in nature, and included a myriad of different subjects. The agreement exists within the paradigm created by the earlier peace agreements signed between 1998 and 2007, and augments them.

The past, flags, and parades

In an attempt to resolve the disputes in this area the signatories agreed to the establishment of a Commission on Flags, Identity, Culture and Tradition. This will be in place by June 2015, to report no later than 18 months thereafter. The commission will be composed of fifteen members, of whom seven shall be selected by the leaders of the Northern Irish parties. The DUP and Sinn Féin shall each be entitled to two members, with the next three largest parties getting one each. The remaining eight members shall be drawn from outside of government. In principle, it was agreed that the responsibility for parades should be devolved to the Northern Ireland Assembly. To ensure the legacy of the Troubles was not forgotten it was agreed that an Oral History Archive be established to allow persons involved to share experience of the Troubles. An independent body named the Historical Investigations Unit will be set up to investigate outstanding criminal killings and alleged police misconduct that occurred during, and in connection with, the Troubles. It will be overseen by the

Northern Ireland Policing Board The Northern Ireland Policing Board ( ga, Bord Póilíneachta Thuaisceart Éireann, Ulster-Scots: ''Norlin Airlan Polisin Boord'') is the police authority for Northern Ireland, charged with supervising the activities of the Police Service of Nor ...

Fiscal policies

The agreement binds the Northern Ireland Executive to pass a final balanced budget by January 2015. The British Government agreed to provide a financial package to Northern Ireland of an additional £2 billion from 2014 to 2020. It is also envisaged that the Executive will institute "a comprehensive programme of Public Sector Reform and Restructuring". This will be aided by an independent strategic review to be conducted by the

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by the end of 2015. Corporation Tax was agreed to be devolved from Westminster to Belfast by 2017, provided that the rest of the agreement is implemented by Northern Irish parties first.

Welfare reform

The agreement binds the parties to implementing welfare reform in Northern Ireland on a similar basis to that which was implemented in

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by the

Welfare Reform Act 2012 The Welfare Reform Act 2012 is an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom which makes changes to the rules concerning a number of benefits offered within the British social security system. It was enacted by the Parliament of the United Kingdo ...

Devolution reform

The agreement slightly alters the structure of the Northern Ireland institutions. The number of representatives in the

Northern Ireland Assembly sco-ulster, Norlin Airlan Assemblie , legislature = Seventh Assembly , coa_pic = File:NI_Assembly.svg , coa_res = 250px , house_type = Unicameral , house1 = , leader1_type = S ...

was agreed to be reduced, from six MLAs per Westminster constituency to five in time for the 2021 Assembly election (however this was actually implemented in 2017 due to the calling of an early election). It is also envisaged that reforms will be put in place to allow parties to decline from joining the Northern Ireland Executive, and instead receive funding as an official opposition, as occurs in other legislative bodies in Ireland and the UK. By the 2016 election the number of Stormont departments will be reduced from twelve to nine.

Irish language

The UK and Irish governments reaffirmed their commitment to recognising the

Irish language Irish (Standard Irish: ), also known as Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Insular Celtic branch of the Celtic language family, which is a part of the Indo-European language family. Irish is indigenous to the island of Ireland and was ...

in Northern Ireland. However, the agreement does not create any binding clauses on the recognition of official status for Irish.

Reaction

The signing of the agreement was met with broad support by a majority of Northern Irish political parties but not the Ulster Unionist Party and outside governments. The Northern Irish Trade Union movement, however, was not as supportive of the agreement staging a number of protests and public meetings against the agreement and the majority of ICTU affiliated public service unions held a one-day strike on 13 March.

Northern Ireland

First Minister A first minister is any of a variety of leaders of government cabinets. The term literally has the same meaning as "prime minister" but is typically chosen to distinguish the office-holder from a superior prime minister. Currently the title of '' ...

Peter Robinson: The deal is "as much as and more than we have ever been able to do on these issues in the past. So it is a very significant agreement.” * Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness: "We're proud of our achievement, I think it is remarkable that we managed against all odds, when people told us it couldn't be done to achieve this in the interests of those ulnerablepeople. I think that is something to be proud of." Sinn Féin eventually withdrew from the deal days before the trade union strike.

United Kingdom

*Prime Minister David Cameron: "I am delighted that a workable agreement has been reached that can allow Northern Ireland to enjoy a brighter, more prosperous future, while at the same time finally being able to deal with its past." *Secretary of State Theresa Villiers: I believe this is a genuine step forward, real progress on some of the most critical issues for Northern Ireland and I'd like to express my strong thanks to all of Northern Ireland's political leaders who have participated in this process.

Ireland

* Minister of Foreign Affairs Charles Flanagan: “Today we are building on the hard-won peace on this island with a new agreement which aims to further reconciliation and foster economic growth.”

United States

*President

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: "when there is a will and the courage to overcome the issues that have divided the people of Northern Ireland, there is a way to succeed for the benefit of all" *Secretary of State

John Kerry John Forbes Kerry (born December 11, 1943) is an American attorney, politician and diplomat who currently serves as the first United States special presidential envoy for climate. A member of the Forbes family and the Democratic Party, he ...

: "This is statesmanship, pure and simple, and leadership by all parties to break a political impasse and avoid a fiscal crisis by resolving complex budgetary and welfare issues." *

(who had co-chaired the Haass talks): " hese proposalsreally do offer a new way forward for Northern Ireland and its people".

Implementation

The implementation of the agreement has been delayed due to disagreements about welfare reform, and controversy about paramilitary activity. The Committee on the Administration of Justice, and academics from the Institute for the Study of Conflict Transformation and the

Transitional Justice Institute The Ulster University's Transitional Justice Institute (TJI), is a law-led multidisciplinary research institute of Ulster University which is physically located at the Jordanstown, and Magee campuses. It was created in 2003, making it the first an ...

have drafted a Model Implementation Bill for the elements of the agreement that deal with the past. A group of civil society activists and academics have adopted a set of gender principles for dealing with the legacy of the conflict to address this gap in the agreement.http://www.ulster.ac.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0009/66285/Gender-Principle-Report-Sept-2015_Final-Version.pdf

References

{{NIPP Ireland–United Kingdom relations Treaties entered into force in 2014