Department of Finance and Personnel
Encyclopedia
The Department of Finance and Personnel (DFP, , Ulster Scots: Männystrie o Siller an Fowk Guideship or Depairtment o Finance an Personnel) is a devolved Northern Ireland
government department in the Northern Ireland Executive
. The minister with overall responsibility for the department is the Minister for Finance and Personnel.
“secure the most appropriate and effective use of resources and services for the benefit of the community”.
The incumbent Minister is Sammy Wilson
(Democratic Unionist Party
).
Some financial matters are reserved to Westminster and are therefore not devolved:
In addition, some matters are excepted and were not intended for devolution:
DFP’s main counterparts in the United Kingdom Government are:
In the Irish Government
, the main counterparts are:
on 23 May 1998 and the granting of Royal Assent
to the Northern Ireland Act 1998
on 19 November 1998, a Northern Ireland Assembly
and Northern Ireland Executive
were established by the United Kingdom government under Prime Minister
Tony Blair
. The process was known as devolution
and was set up to return devolved legislative powers to Northern Ireland. DFP is one of 11 devolved Northern Ireland departments created in December 1999 by the Northern Ireland Act 1998
and The Departments (Northern Ireland) Order 1999
.
A devolved minister first took office on 2 December 1999. Devolution was suspended for four periods, during which the department came under the responsibility of direct rule
ministers from the Northern Ireland Office
:
Since 8 May 2007, devolution has operated without interruption.
were responsible for the department:
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
government department in the Northern Ireland Executive
Northern Ireland Executive
The Northern Ireland Executive is the executive arm of the Northern Ireland Assembly, the devolved legislature for Northern Ireland. It is answerable to the Assembly and was established according to the terms of the Northern Ireland Act 1998, which followed the Good Friday Agreement...
. The minister with overall responsibility for the department is the Minister for Finance and Personnel.
Aim
DFP’s overall aim is to help the Northern Ireland ExecutiveNorthern Ireland Executive
The Northern Ireland Executive is the executive arm of the Northern Ireland Assembly, the devolved legislature for Northern Ireland. It is answerable to the Assembly and was established according to the terms of the Northern Ireland Act 1998, which followed the Good Friday Agreement...
“secure the most appropriate and effective use of resources and services for the benefit of the community”.
The incumbent Minister is Sammy Wilson
Sammy Wilson
Samuel Wilson is a politician from Northern Ireland who is a Member of Parliament and a Member of the Legislative Assembly for East Antrim. He served as Lord Mayor of Belfast in 1986 – 1987; and again from June 2000 to June 2001. He was the first person from the Democratic Unionist Party ...
(Democratic Unionist Party
Democratic Unionist Party
The Democratic Unionist Party is the larger of the two main unionist political parties in Northern Ireland. Founded by Ian Paisley and currently led by Peter Robinson, it is currently the largest party in the Northern Ireland Assembly and the fourth-largest party in the House of Commons of the...
).
Responsibilities
The department is responsible for the following policy areas:- finance
- the Northern Ireland Civil ServiceNorthern Ireland Civil ServiceThe Northern Ireland Civil Service is the permanent bureaucracy of Crown employees that supports the Northern Ireland Executive, the devolved government of Northern Ireland....
- land and property
- building regulation
- procurement
- civil law reform
- civil registration
Some financial matters are reserved to Westminster and are therefore not devolved:
- financial servicesFinancial servicesFinancial services refer to services provided by the finance industry. The finance industry encompasses a broad range of organizations that deal with the management of money. Among these organizations are credit unions, banks, credit card companies, insurance companies, consumer finance companies,...
- financial markets
In addition, some matters are excepted and were not intended for devolution:
- taxation
- currencyCurrencyIn economics, currency refers to a generally accepted medium of exchange. These are usually the coins and banknotes of a particular government, which comprise the physical aspects of a nation's money supply...
DFP’s main counterparts in the United Kingdom Government are:
- HM Treasury;
- the Cabinet OfficeCabinet OfficeThe Cabinet Office is a department of the Government of the United Kingdom responsible for supporting the Prime Minister and Cabinet of the United Kingdom....
(on civil service matters); - the Ministry of JusticeMinistry of Justice (United Kingdom)The Ministry of Justice is a ministerial department of the UK Government headed by the Secretary of State for Justice and Lord Chancellor, who is responsible for improvements to the justice system so that it better serves the public...
(on civil law reform); - the Department for Communities and Local GovernmentDepartment for Communities and Local GovernmentThe Department for Communities and Local Government is the UK Government department for communities and local government in England. It was established in May 2006 and is the successor to the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, established in 2001...
(on building regulation); - HM Land RegistryHM Land RegistryLand Registry is a non-ministerial government department and executive agency of the Government of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1862 to register the ownership of land and property in England and Wales...
(on land registration).
In the Irish Government
Irish Government
The Government of Ireland is the cabinet that exercises executive authority in Ireland.-Members of the Government:Membership of the Government is regulated fundamentally by the Constitution of Ireland. The Government is headed by a prime minister called the Taoiseach...
, the main counterparts are:
- the Department of FinanceDepartment of Finance (Ireland)The Department of Finance is a department of the Government of Ireland. It is led by the Minister for Finance and is assisted by one Minister of State....
; - the Department of Public Expenditure and ReformDepartment of Public Expenditure and ReformThe Department of Public Expenditure and Reform is a department of the Government of Ireland. It is led by the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform who is assisted by one Minister of State....
; - the Department of Justice and Equality (on civil law reform and land registration);
- the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government (on building regulation).
History
Following a referendum on the Belfast AgreementBelfast Agreement
The Good Friday Agreement or Belfast Agreement , sometimes called the Stormont Agreement, was a major political development in the Northern Ireland peace process...
on 23 May 1998 and the granting of Royal Assent
Royal Assent
The granting of royal assent refers to the method by which any constitutional monarch formally approves and promulgates an act of his or her nation's parliament, thus making it a law...
to the Northern Ireland Act 1998
Northern Ireland Act 1998
The Northern Ireland Act 1998 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which established a devolved legislature for Northern Ireland, the Northern Ireland Assembly, after decades of direct rule from Westminster....
on 19 November 1998, a Northern Ireland Assembly
Northern Ireland Assembly
The Northern Ireland Assembly is the devolved legislature of Northern Ireland. It has power to legislate in a wide range of areas that are not explicitly reserved to the Parliament of the United Kingdom, and to appoint the Northern Ireland Executive...
and Northern Ireland Executive
Northern Ireland Executive
The Northern Ireland Executive is the executive arm of the Northern Ireland Assembly, the devolved legislature for Northern Ireland. It is answerable to the Assembly and was established according to the terms of the Northern Ireland Act 1998, which followed the Good Friday Agreement...
were established by the United Kingdom government under Prime Minister
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
Tony Blair
Tony Blair
Anthony Charles Lynton Blair is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...
. The process was known as devolution
Devolution
Devolution is the statutory granting of powers from the central government of a sovereign state to government at a subnational level, such as a regional, local, or state level. Devolution can be mainly financial, e.g. giving areas a budget which was formerly administered by central government...
and was set up to return devolved legislative powers to Northern Ireland. DFP is one of 11 devolved Northern Ireland departments created in December 1999 by the Northern Ireland Act 1998
Northern Ireland Act 1998
The Northern Ireland Act 1998 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which established a devolved legislature for Northern Ireland, the Northern Ireland Assembly, after decades of direct rule from Westminster....
and The Departments (Northern Ireland) Order 1999
The Departments (Northern Ireland) Order 1999
The Departments Order 1999 set out new devolved Northern Ireland government departments and the Northern Ireland Executive.-Departments created:The Departments Order 1999 created the following departments:...
.
A devolved minister first took office on 2 December 1999. Devolution was suspended for four periods, during which the department came under the responsibility of direct rule
Direct Rule
Direct rule was the term given, during the late 20th and early 21st centuries, to the administration of Northern Ireland directly from Westminster, seat of United Kingdom government...
ministers from the Northern Ireland Office
Northern Ireland Office
The Northern Ireland Office is a United Kingdom government department responsible for Northern Ireland affairs. The NIO is led by the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, and is based in Northern Ireland at Stormont House.-Role:...
:
- between 12 February 2000 and 30 May 2000;
- on 11 August 2001 ;
- on 22 September 2001 ;
- between 15 October 2002 and 8 May 2007.
Since 8 May 2007, devolution has operated without interruption.
Ministers of Finance and Personnel
| Minister | Party | Took office | Left office | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mark Durkan Mark Durkan Mark Durkan is an Irish nationalist politician in Northern Ireland who was leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party from 2001 to 2010.-Early life:... |
2 December 1999 | 11 February 2000 | ||
| Office suspended | ||||
| Mark Durkan Mark Durkan Mark Durkan is an Irish nationalist politician in Northern Ireland who was leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party from 2001 to 2010.-Early life:... |
30 May 2000 | 14 December 2001 | ||
| Seán Farren Sean Farren Sean Nial Farren is an Northern Irish politician.Farren studied at the National University of Ireland, University College Dublin, University of Essex and the University of Ulster... |
14 December 2001 | 14 October 2002 | ||
| Office suspended | ||||
| Peter Robinson Peter Robinson (politician) Peter David Robinson is the current First Minister of Northern Ireland and leader of the Democratic Unionist Party... |
8 May 2007 | 5 June 2008 | ||
| Nigel Dodds Nigel Dodds Nigel Alexander Dodds, OBE, MP, BL is a barrister and Northern Irish unionist politician. He is Member of Parliament for Belfast North, and deputy leader of the Democratic Unionist Party. He has been Lord Mayor of Belfast twice, and from 1993 has been General Secretary of the DUP... |
9 June 2008 | 1 July 2009 | ||
| Sammy Wilson Sammy Wilson Samuel Wilson is a politician from Northern Ireland who is a Member of Parliament and a Member of the Legislative Assembly for East Antrim. He served as Lord Mayor of Belfast in 1986 – 1987; and again from June 2000 to June 2001. He was the first person from the Democratic Unionist Party ... |
1 July 2009 | |||
Direct rule ministers
During the periods of suspension, the following ministers of the Northern Ireland OfficeNorthern Ireland Office
The Northern Ireland Office is a United Kingdom government department responsible for Northern Ireland affairs. The NIO is led by the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, and is based in Northern Ireland at Stormont House.-Role:...
were responsible for the department:
- Adam IngramAdam Ingram (Labour politician)Adam Paterson Ingram is a British Labour Party politician, who was the Member of Parliament for East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow from 1987 to 2010.-Early life:...
(2000) - Ian PearsonIan PearsonIan Phares Pearson is a British Labour Party politician who was a Member of Parliament from 1994 until 2010, representing Dudley West from 1994 until 1997, and then Dudley South from 1997 until his retirement from the House of Commons at the 2010 general election...
(2002-05) - Lord Rooker (2005-06)
- David HansonDavid Hanson (politician)David George Hanson is a British Labour Party politician, who has been the Member of Parliament for Delyn since 1992. He was the Minister of State for Security, Counter-Terrorism, Crime and Policing from 2009 to 2010...
(2006-07)