Ms Geraldine McGahey:

The programme for Government for each term of the Assembly is a comprehensive list of actions that it wants to take. It is fair to say that over the lifespan of the Assembly to date, it has been more out of function than in function. As a consequence of that, the programme for Government slips. I mentioned earlier that we made progress in the past in respect of age discrimination and then fell on final hurdle. In that particular case, there was a different view on a policy aspect of that proposed legislation. The Assembly ran out of time because its term came to an end and elections interfered. I have to be fair to it and say it has not had a full term of office to be able to progress many of these things. It is not simply just equality legislation or human rights that gets impacted, rather it is across its whole spectrum of legislative progress.

I would not identify one political party more than another. They have different views and they need time to be able to find that common ground to be able to endorse something. In some of the dialogues I have been having over the past number of months, there would be more reluctance, it appears, to progress a single equality Bill because it is likely to cause a degree of diversion. Whereas with simple issues – I use the word loosely – such as disability or age discrimination, people might be able to buy into that more readily and we might have more hope of being able to get legislation over the line. I am prepared to take it whatever way I can get it. That is the angle we will be taking moving forward.