- Event type: CREATE_FROM
Northern Ireland Brooke/Mayhew Talks 1991-1992
WORK IN PROGRESS - IN THE FINAL STAGES OF EDITING A series of talks launched by Peter Brooke, Secretary of State for Northern in Ireland, which began in April 1991, and were carried on intermittently by Brooke and his successor, Patrick Mayhew, until November 1992.
Office of the Strand 1 Chairman (British Government Delegation)
In order to adequately reflect the role of the Chairman and his staff in re-drafting documents and controlling the flow of information during bilateral negotiations, we are representing them as a separate committee. In contrast to other Quill negotiations, in these Talks much of the actual work of negotiation and making proposals took place in bilateral meetings between the Chairman and the party delegations. The minutes of these sessions have been preserved in the same format as the minutes of the plenary sessions, and the sessions are modelled from the minutes as separate Committees (British Government/Alliance Bilaterals, etc.). The Chairman would move between these meetings, reporting on the positions of the other delegations and trying to reach accommodation. It is beyond the scope of the current project to model all the internal government meetings which took place during the Talks (although documentation for at least some of them exists in the National Archives), but we can draw on evidence within the sources we are using to show that proposals and agendas for the bilaterals were agreed within the Government team. For example, in a particular round of meetings, the Chairman will open the meeting with a near-identical agenda and summary of the current position of the other parties. To adequately model the fact that the flow of ideas between the delegations was filtered by the Chairman in this way, we have set up a committee called the 'Office of the Chairman' to show the conclusions of each bilateral discussion passing through the Chairman's Office and being redrafted before being passed on to the next delegation.
To see the full record of a committee, click on the corresponding committee on the map below.
Committee Approval for Workplan
WORKPLAN FOR STRAND ONE
1. Opening Statement by the Secretary of State.
2. Presentation by the Alliance Party.
3. Presentation by the SDLP.
4. Presentation by the UDUP.
5. Presentation by the UUP.
6. These presentations should be by written statements to which parties can speak and on which they can be questioned. It is envisaged that in the resulting discussion the general principles and perceived political realities and requirements will be comprehensively aired. From this it is expected that common themes will emerge which will form the basis for further discussions.
7. At this stage it will be necessary to consider the institutional implications of these discussions and to address specific proposals which may be tabled by any of
the participants. Issues to which specific proposals may be addressed are likely to include those in the attached Addendum.
8. Elements of this workplan may need to be adjusted in the light of the discussions which may suggest new issues or approaches.
ADDENDUM TO WORKPLAN FOR STRAND ONE
Specific issues are likely to include:
(i) the [...position of Northern Ireland
(ii) relationships within the Northern Ireland community
(iii) the nature of institutional arrangements within Northern Ireland, including institutions, if any, at province wide level and the relationship between them and other institutions, such as local authorities, within Northern Ireland. (Under this heading it would be necessary to consider, other things, the extent of powers to be transferred - including any role in respect of security - and the way in which they should operate and be financed.)
(iv) the relationship between any institutions within Northern Ireland and the Secretary of State and the UK Government and Parliamentary system
(v) the role of the UK Government and Parliament in respect of matters which are not brought within the responsibilities of institutions within Northern Ireland (including legislative procedures at Westminster).
(vi) the relationship, if any, between any institutions within Northern Ireland and the European Community
(vii) the arrangements for the protection of individual and community rights
(viii) arrangements for validating the outcome of the talks process as a whole insofar as the issues for discussions in strand one are concerned.
This list is not comprehensive; other issues may emerge in discussion.
Decisions yet to be taken
- Committee Approval for Workplan (introduced on 1991-05-29 07:00:00 - CREATE_FROM - e833126) [This document]
Document Timeline
- Committee Approval for Workplan (introduced on 1991-05-29 07:00:00 - CREATE_FROM - e833126) [This document] [view current proposal at this moment]