The Northern Ireland Office (NIO; Irish: Oifig Thuaisceart Éireann, Ulster-Scots: Norlin Airlann Oaffis) is a ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for handling Northern Ireland affairs. The NIO is led by the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland and is based at Erskine House in Belfast City Centre and 1 Horse Guards Road in London.
In the United Kingdom, an electoral registration officer (ERO) is a person who has the statutory duty to compile and maintain the electoral roll (which includes conducting the annual canvass). Any expenses incurred by an electoral registration officer in the performance of his/her functions are paid by the local authority which made the appointment, except in Northern Ireland, where the Chief Electoral Officer's expenses are covered by the Northern Ireland Office.
In Northern Irish politics, direct rule (Irish: riail dhíreach) is the administration of Northern Ireland directly by the Government of the United Kingdom. It was practised for 26 consecutive years between 1972 and 1998 during the Troubles, and has since then been temporarily applied during suspensions. The most recent period of direct rule came to an end on 8 May 2007 when power was restored to the Northern Ireland Assembly following elections in April and a power-sharing agreement among major parties.
Although everyday matters under direct rule were handled by government departments within Northern Ireland itself, major policy was determined by the British Government's Northern Ireland Office, under the direction of the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland; and legislation was introduced, amended, or repealed by means of Order in Council. Direct rule did not mean that the people of Northern Ireland had no democratic say in how they were governed; like other parts of the United Kingdom, they elected (and still elect) members of parliament to the Parliament of the United Kingdom, to which the Northern Ireland Office is responsible. But it did result in the existence of an administration specific to Northern Ireland which did not have a specifically Northern Irish mandate.
The Department of Justice (Irish: An Roinn Dlí agus Cirt, Ulster-Scots: Männystrie o tha Laa) is a government department in the Northern Ireland Executive, which was established on 12 April 2010 as part of the devolution of justice matters to the Northern Ireland Assembly. The department's Permanent Secretary is Hugh Widdis. It combines the previous work of the Northern Ireland Office and the Ministry of Justice, within the United Kingdom Government, which were respectively responsible for justice policy and the administration of courts in Northern Ireland.
The Stormont House Agreement is a political accommodation between the British and Irish governments, and a majority of parties that make up the Northern Ireland Executive. The agreement was published on 23 December 2014. The Stormont House Agreement is intended to bind the parties and communities closer together on resolving identity issues, coming to a settlement on welfare reform, and on making government finance in Northern Ireland more sustainable. After ten weeks of further talks, it led to the Fresh Start Agreement in November 2015, which aimed to secure the full implementation of the Stormont House Agreement and to deal with the impact of continued paramilitary activity.
The agreement was named after the building where the negotiations took place; Stormont House, the provincial headquarters of the Northern Ireland Office. The talks were primarily chaired by the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Theresa Villiers, though Irish Minister for Foreign Affairs Charles Flanagan, British Prime Minister David Cameron and Irish Taoiseach Enda Kenny also participated at various points.
The secretary of state for Northern Ireland (Irish: Rúnaí Stáit Thuaisceart Éireann; Scots: Secretar o State for Norlin Airlan), also referred to as Northern Ireland Secretary or SoSNI, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with overall responsibility for the Northern Ireland Office. The officeholder is a member of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom. The incumbent secretary of state for Northern Ireland is Hilary Benn.
The officeholder works alongside the other Northern Ireland Office ministers. The corresponding shadow minister is the shadow secretary of state for Northern Ireland.
Castle Buildings is the name given to a group of Northern Ireland Executive buildings in the Stormont Estate in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The complex is notable as the location of the negotiations leading to the Good Friday Agreement.
Castle Buildings are the headquarters for the Department of Health and the Department of Justice, who it was announced would be based in two offices on the first floor on 29 July 2009. The group of buildings is also used by the Executive Office and previously by the Northern Ireland Office.