My Learning for Life and Work class visited the Northern Ireland Assembly at Stormont on the 13th and 14th December.
We met Eileen Bell who is the Speaker of the Assembly. Her job is to make sure everyone in the debating chamber keeps to the rules of debate.
We heard that members are not permitted to use the word liar or murderer or terrorist during debate in the chamber. We were given a talk about the Great Hall and then taken to the basement to a press conference room, where the Education Officer gave us a presentation on the history of the assembly.
Then we had a mock election and the votes were counted by proportional representation. ’Rock and Roll‘ party won and the ’No Smoking‘ party were also elected. We also learnt about all the parties and the deferred matters which the assembly deals with. For example, Education - whether the 11+ will continue or not and Agriculture - it is illegal to farm animals for their fur in Northern Ireland. Defence and taxation are dealt with by the parliament in London. Following that, we were taken to the Debating Chamber.
And there's More...
By Alana Mathers and Helen Beattie
When we went to Stormont, we were given a tour of the building. The first room we saw was the Great Hall. The Great Hall ceiling has special paint and has never had to be repainted since it was built, even though it was smoke damaged in a fire. The plaster was coated with a special wax but the painter did not leave the secret recipe behind when he died. Everything is symmetrical in the design of the building. If there is a triangle on the ceiling there is a matching one on the floor. The ceiling and chandeliers have real gold paint.
There is a statue of Lord Craigavon, the first Prime Minister of Northern Ireland and he and his wife are the only people buried on the Stormont Estate. However, George Best‘s funeral service was held in the Great Hall and the security staff at the entrance are the people who dealt with the Michael Stone incident recently.
In the Debating Chamber the seats are arranged in a U shape. Some of the class sat on the Nationalist side of the chamber and some on the Unionist side. Others sat in the middle where the Alliance party or smaller parties sit.
We had a debate on the motion: that this house will lower the voting age from 18 to 16. Alana spoke for the motion saying that 16 year old citizens were old enough to work and marry so they should have a say in how the government works. Tammie spoke against the motion saying that a lot of 16 year olds were immature and would not vote responsibly. The house voted and had to divide to the lobbies for the votes to be counted. The Unionist argument for the motion won the day!
