Northern Ireland (St Andrews Agreement) Act 2006

The Ministerial offices

2 (1) Subsections (2) to (7) of section 3 of the 2000 Act do not apply in relation to the restoration order (and, accordingly, no person who immediately before the most recent suspension held an office mentioned in any of those subsections shall resume that office on 26 March 2007).

(2) On 26 March 2007—

(a) the First Minister designate shall, subject to sub-paragraph (4), become the First Minister, and

(b) the deputy First Minister designate shall, subject to sub-paragraph (4), become the deputy First Minister,

(and section 16A of the 1998 Act does not apply).

(3) In sub-paragraph (2)—

• “the First Minister designate” means the person whose nomination by virtue of paragraph 3 of Schedule 1 to this Act to hold office as First Minister has effect immediately before 26 March 2007;

• “the deputy First Minister designate” means the person whose nomination by virtue of that paragraph to hold office as deputy First Minister has effect immediately before that date.

(4) But the persons whose nominations so have effect shall not take up office until each of them has affirmed the terms of the pledge of office (within the meaning given by section 16C(14) of the 1998 Act).

(5) On 26 March 2007, the Ministerial offices to be held by Northern Ireland Ministers shall be filled by applying section 18(2) to (6) of the 1998 Act (and section 16A of the 1998 Act does not apply).

(6) But for that purpose, section 18 of that Act shall have effect as if the reference, in the definition of “S” in subsection (5) of that section, to the day on which the Assembly first met following its election were a reference to the first day on which the Transitional Assembly met after 7 March 2007.

(7) In this paragraph “the most recent suspension” means the most recent suspension of the Northern Ireland Assembly by virtue of section 1 of the 2000 Act.