Browse all the articles published on the Research Matters blog, with the most recent articles appearing at the top.
In the 2011-16 Assembly Mandate, MLAs debated, scrutinised and passed a range of legislation across a number of policy areas – from Mental Capacity to
It is difficult to grasp the full extent of what is portrayed by road traffic collision statistics. Each statistic represents a human being and, in
The draft Programme for Government contains a commitment to running a pilot family drug and alcohol court in Northern Ireland. Such courts have been used
The agri-food sector is a significant one for the economy and employment in Northern Ireland. For a number of reasons, the implications of the vote
The Assembly Research and Information Service (RaISe) recently published a paper which provided an update on developments following the EU referendum on 23rd June. In
The Assembly Education Service engaged with more than 80,000 young people during the last mandate. The aim of this work is to inform young people
Yesterday, we published a post which examined the 2016 Assembly election results in terms of candidates and voter turnout. This post, the second in the
The fifth Assembly election since the return of devolution in 1998 took place on 5 May 2016. The DUP consolidated its position as the largest
How might leaving the European Union impact on environmental policy, funding and legislation in Northern Ireland?
This week has seen a number of announcements made which will have a bearing on the process of UK withdrawal from the EU.
The past seven days have seen significant developments in relation to EU referendum related action in the courts at both local and UK level. This
A draft BBC Charter and Framework Agreement has been published, but what’s in it for Northern Ireland and will proposed changes to governance arrangements be
Are we still sectarian, or the ‘race-hate capital’?
One area that has created considerable political division in Northern Ireland is how to deal with a contested past. Broadly, ‘dealing with the past’ tends
The plant disease and invasive species threat posed to the environment in Northern Ireland is increasing, and likely to continue to do so due to
Please note that a more recent article on Suicide statistics and strategy in Northern Ireland: Update was published in November 2019. ______________________________ For the second
Education and training are key factors in economic progress, acting as a means of raising productivity. Whilst other factors can result in short-run economic improvements,
How can we ensure that children’s early years lay firm foundations for the future? During the first five years of life children develop at a
Prolonged heavy rainfall over the winter of 2015 has shown how devastating flooding can be to homes, businesses and critical infrastructure. With predictions that localised
Rapid technological changes have caused the norms and methods of children’s sexual behaviour to evolve. Much screen-based media use now involves accessing interactive social networking
At the beginning of the last Assembly mandate in 2011, the Research and Information Service wrote a piece on the possibility of new legislation for
In recent years ‘Preventative Expenditure‘ (PE) has gained a high level of political consensus. There are many definitions, and this imprecision has resulted in departments
Despite not being particularly large in overall UK terms, the sea fishing industry in Northern Ireland makes a significant contribution to the economy of the
Northern Ireland (NI) receives a sizeable fiscal transfer from the United Kingdom (UK) Government. In other words, considerably more is spent on public services than
Financial Transactions Capital (FTC) is funding allocated to the Executive by the United Kingdom (UK) Government. The Executive has discretion over FTC allocation to projects.
During the last mandate, it was estimated that almost 1.5 million objects from archaeological sites in Northern Ireland lie in temporary storage, uncurated and inaccessible
The May 2016 election was the last at which 108 Members would be returned to the Assembly. At the next Assembly election there will be
The purpose of an ‘Annual Report and Accounts’ is to provide information about an entity’s financial position, changes in financial position, financial performance and cash
Please note that the Constituency Profiles have been updated with a new layout and are available on a new page here. The Research and Information
Please note that more up-to-date statistics on gender representation can be found in the RaISe research paper Who Runs Northern Ireland? A Summary of Statistics
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