Northern Assembly to examine e-voting

Proposals to speed up votes in the Assembly at Stormont are being examined further this week.

The Committee on Procedures is investigating electronic voting which could slash the amount of time it takes to hold a vote - especially if amendments to motions for debate have been put down by members, prompting several divisions.

When the committee meets on Wednesday they will look at how things are done in the Republic.

An official from Dáil Éireann and another from the Office of Public Works in Dublin will give DUP peer Lord Morrow's committee the benefit of their experience.

The Republic's e-voting venture is generally thought to have been a failure following doubts regarding the security of the system.

Last month members of the committee travelled to the Scottish Parliament to see how e-voting funtioned there.

Alliance Party MLA and committee member Sean Neeson said: "E-voting would enable the Assembly to get on with tackling more issues in the chamber and might speed up the democratic process."

Meanwhile, a day earlier the Assembly and Executive Review Committee, chaired by the DUP's Jeffrey Donaldson, will continue its inquiry into the transfer of responsibility for policing and justice issues back to the devolved administration from Westminster.

The Lord Chief Justice Brian Kerr and the Policing Board give oral evidence to the committee on the transfer. Secretary of State Shaun Woodward will address the committee on Wednesday.

The committee has been tasked with reporting to the Assembly by the end of February next year having identified what preparations need to be made by the Assembly to facilitate devolution of responsibility for the two key responsibilities - and which preparations have already been made.