The Northern Ireland Grand Committee is one of three such grand committees in the

United Kingdom Parliament The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, and may also legislate for the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of ...

. The other two are for

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

and

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

. The membership of the committee includes all participating Northern Irish MPs, as well as up to 25 other MPs who are nominated by the Committee of Selection. The purpose of the committee is to read bills that are relevant to Northern Ireland before their second or third readings in Parliament. It also provides an opportunity for MPs to question ministers, debate current matters and for ministers to make statements. There are between three and six committee meetings per year. Until recently, unlike its Scottish and Welsh counterparts, the Northern Ireland Grand Committee met at

Westminster Westminster is the main settlement of the City of Westminster in Central London, Central London, England. It extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street and has many famous landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buckingham Palace, ...

and never in

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

. However, the

Democratic Unionist Party The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) is a Unionism in Ireland, unionist, Ulster loyalism, loyalist, British nationalist and national conservative political party in Northern Ireland. It was founded in 1971 during the Troubles by Ian Paisley, who ...

pressed for a meeting to take place in Northern Ireland itself. The government agreed, and in December 2006 the first local meeting of the committee took place in the

council A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or natio ...

chamber at Belfast City Hall. The committee met again in Northern Ireland in September 2013, this time in the Senate Chamber at Parliament Buildings, Stormont.

References

External links

Northern Ireland Grand CommitteeNorthern Ireland Grand Committee Debates
Northern Ireland Grand Committee Debates by parliamentary year:

Committees of the British House of Commons {{NorthernIreland-stub

See also

References

External links