UK News 30-11-1999 Parliament Empowers Northern Ireland who: Peter Mandelson what: Will move to devolve power over Northern Ireland where: House of Commons, LONDON when: Today snippet: The new government of Northern Ireland was selected "in under an hour" yesterday, reports The Guardian. Parliament will today order the devolution of government over Northern Ireland and end 25 years of direct British rule. The nominations for the twelve ministerial positions took place yesterday. Ulster Unionists and the SDLP took three ministries; the DUP and Sinn Fein took two. But Unionists were furious when Sinn Fein chose to nominate the former IRA chief of staff, 49 year-old Martin McGuinness, as the province`s minister for education. "That casts a shadow over the so-called new dawn in Northern Ireland," said Nigel Dodds, of the Democratic Unionist party. Today`s events will pave the way for the transfer of power from Westminster to Stormont on Thursday, at which point the IRA is due to announce its representative to the International Decommissioning Body. The North-South ministerial council and British-Irish council will also be instituted. [... more]

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