Speaker Panel A-Z

Experiences of the Assembly in operation

Mark Devenport is BBC Northern Ireland's Political Editor and Chair of the Stormont Correspondents' Association. Mark has reported in various capacities for BBC Northern Ireland since the mid 1980s, covering events such as the IRA ceasefire of 1994, the Good Friday Agreement and the Omagh bombing. During the 1990s, Mark was the BBC's Ireland Correspondent reporting on developments in Ireland for its national and international audiences. Between 1999 and 2001 he was the BBC's United Nations Correspondent, based in New York. Mark is the author of two books, Man of War, Man of Peace a biography of Gerry Adams which he wrote together with the Times correspondent David Sharrock and Flash Frames an anecdotal account of reporting from Belfast.

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The role of the Assembly Ombudsman

Tom Frawley has been the Assembly Ombudsman and Northern Ireland Commissioner for Complaints since September 2000. In 2002 he was invited by the Office of the First Minister and deputy First Minister to chair the independent Panel of Experts appointed to advise the Review of Public Administration. In 2004 he was elected by his fellow Ombudsmen in Europe to represent them as a Director of the European Region of the International Ombudsman Institute. Prior to taking up his current role he enjoyed a long career in the health sector.

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A guide to the legislative process

Éilis Haughey is a Clerk of Bills at the Northern Ireland Assembly, one of three Clerks in the Bill Office who advise the Speaker, Members and Committees on legislative procedure and amendments and support Members in the development of private members’ or committee bills.

Éilis has a degree in Law with French from Queen’s University and was previously Policy Manager for the SDLP

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The Public Accounts Committee

Paul Maskey was elected to the Northern Ireland Assembly in 2007 as a Sinn Féin MLA for West Belfast. He is Chair of the Public Accounts Committee and is also a member of the Audit Committee, the Business Committee and the Standards and Privileges Committee. He was a Councillor on Belfast City Council from 2001 until 2009.

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The relationship with civic society: how the third sector engages with the Assembly

Frances McCandless is Director of Policy at NICVA, the umbrella body for the voluntary and community sector in Northern Ireland. Frances is responsible for the operation of the organisation’s policy and research work including European Policy, public affairs, lobbying, community relations, anti-poverty work and sustainable development. Frances was previously employed by NICVA as Head of Communications and for seven years in this post she was editor of SCOPE social affairs magazine. Frances’s career in the voluntary and community sector goes back 19 years and she has worked with young people, women, in housing and as an international volunteer in Prague with the YMCA.

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Engaging with the Northern Ireland Assembly

John McMullan is Chief Executive of Bryson Charitable Group, where he has been employed since 1985. His responsibilities include oversight of the charity’s financial, strategic planning, business development functions and responsibility for the group’s recent restructuring and repositioning. John was appointed by the Social Development Minister as Chairman of the Northern Ireland Fuel Poverty Advisory Group until 2009 and by the Minister of State at the Department of Public Enterprise (Republic of Ireland) as a board member of the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (Sustainable Energy Ireland) 1999-2007.

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Beyond the basics: The role of an MLA

Declan O’Loan was elected as an MLA in 2007 and represents North Antrim for the SDLP. He is Chairman of the Northern Ireland Assembly’s Standards and Privileges Committee and is a member of the Finance and Personnel Committee and Public Accounts Committee. Declan has been a Councillor on Ballymena Borough Council since 1993 and was formerly a teacher of mathematics at St Louis Grammar School in Ballymena.

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Open for business? Transacting the business agenda with the Assembly

Glyn Roberts was appointed Chief Executive of the Northern Ireland Independent Retail Trade Association on January 2008 after serving seven years as Head of Press and Parliamentary Affairs with the Federation of Small Businesses in Northern Ireland. Glyn is a board member of the Northern Ireland Assembly and Business Trust, a member of the Institute of Directors Economic Strategy Committee and is Vice Chairman of the Northern Ireland Government Affairs Group. Glyn holds a degree in Political Science from the University of Ulster and is a graduate of Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, Leaders for Tomorrow Programme (2008) and the US State Department International Leadership Programme (2007).

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The role of the Committees in the Northern Ireland Assembly

Jim Wells, MLA is Chair of the Northern Ireland Assembly’s Health, Social Services and Public Safety Committee, a role he took up during 2009. He has been a member of the Assembly since 1998, representing the South Down constituency for the DUP. He was a Deputy Speaker of the Transitional Assembly from 2006-2007 and is a Councillor on Down District Council. A qualified town planner and keen environmentalist, he has also worked for the National Trust and RSPB.

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