Analysis of the New Decade, New Approach agreement
After three years in the political wilderness, Northern Ireland once again has a functioning devolved government sitting at Stormont.
A new cross-party deal, published in January 2020, paved the way for the restoration of the NI Assembly and Executive. The New Decade, New Approach (NDNA) agreement was announced by the Irish and British governments on 9 January 2020 and subsequently endorsed by NI’s main political parties on 10 January.
Published alongside the agreement was draft Assembly legislation related to the language and cultural aspects of the deal. This legislation comprises three separate (draft) bills to establish: the Office of Identity and Cultural Expression (OICE); an Irish language Commissioner; and a Commissioner focusing on Ulster Scots and Ulster British language, arts and literature
CAJ has authored two briefing papers in relation to NDNA. One provides a short, general overview of the agreement, its main provisions, and its implications for rights and equality. The second is a much more detailed analysis focused specifically on the contents of the three draft bills.
You can download both briefing papers via the below links:
Analysis of the draft legislation published with NDNA
The full agreement document and combined draft bills are available online here.