Commentary on provisions of Act Section 1 - Extension of period for filling Ministerial offices
Section 1 extends the period for filling Ministerial offices in the Northern Ireland Executive. Subsection (1) makes clear that this relates only to the first occasion that those offices must be filled following the Northern Ireland Assembly election on 2 March 2017. It provides a 108 day statutory period for offices to be filled after the Assembly has first met, rather than the current 14 day period. This has the effect of requiring an Executive to be formed by 29 June, enabling a deal reached by the parties to be implemented by that point. Subsection (2) retrospectively applies subsection (1), such that the new deadline is treated as having been in place since 2 March. Subsection (3) clarifies that the offices in question are the offices of the First Minister and deputy First Minister for Northern Ireland and the other Ministers in the Northern Ireland Executive.