Alderdice sought advice on going to Washington DC during Stormont suspension

Former Stormont speaker Lord John Alderdice wrote to Northern Ireland Secretary Peter Mandelson in 2000 seeking advice on whether he should attend St Patrick’s Day celebrations in the US at a time when the powersharing institutions had been suspended.

Declassified files at the Public Record Office in Belfast reveal administrative arrangements being made to deal with the suspension of the nine-week-old Executive.

In December 1999 Stormont’s first generation of devolved ministers had taken up their posts as the new Executive met for the first time.

However, just weeks later, in February 2000, Lord Mandelson reimposed direct rule because of the lack of progress on IRA decommissioning.

During the period when the institutions were collapsed the files reveal concerns about morale among Assembly staff.

The file includes the letter sent from Lord Alderdice to Mr Mandelson on March 1, in which he said he had been invited to take part in the traditional St Patrick’s Day celebrations in Washington DC.

He wrote: “My invitation to these events are all in my capacity as Speaker.

“As you are now responsible for the Assembly during the period of suspension, I would be grateful if you would advise me as to your view on whether I should go ahead with the visit or simply tender my regrets.

“On a related note, I have asked your private office to make an arrangement for us to meet in order that we can clarify my role during the period of suspension.

“I hope that it might be possible to have this meeting at some point next week.”

There is no reply from Mr Mandelson to the letter included in the Northern Ireland Assembly Commission file.

It does contain guidance on working arrangements for Stormont departments during the period of suspension. This includes a document with a number of proposed staffing scenarios relating to how quickly the devolved institutions could be revived.

It said that, in order to be able to restart the Assembly within one to two days of any announcement from the Secretary of State, “current levels of staffing and service to members and public to be retained”.

It said spare capacity among staff during suspension could be utilised through a number of measures including staff training and development and “education and awareness seminars”.

The document says: “Retaining the current levels of staff will ensure minimum delay if urgent start-up of the Assembly was required.

“Staff morale will be improved through measures to ensure staff are fully occupied, through for example attachments, training and development, engaged on departmental work, etc.”

The file also contains a Civil Service memo sent from the Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister to the Northern Ireland Assembly Commission ahead of a meeting between the Speaker and the Secretary of State during the suspension.

It says: “If the meeting is to go ahead on 5 May we should brief the Secretary of State, Gerry Cosgrove should, in parallel, brief Lord Alderdice, on the basis of the current arrangements for the Assembly should remain in place pending future political developments, with a pragmatic approach being taken to dealing with Assembly staff who are unoccupied during suspension.

“This could be done on the basis that those staff would remain in their posts in the Assembly, but might undertake work for their parent departments as appropriate.

“This would require that the Assembly could return to full operation immediately in the event of restoration.”

Devolution was restored in May 2000 after the IRA pledged to put its weapons beyond use.