Devolution in Northern Ireland

The Northern Ireland Assembly was established after the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement of 1998. It sits at Stormont in Belfast and has 90 elected members, known as MLAs (Members of the Legislative Assembly), elected by proportional representation. A power-sharing agreement distributes ministerial offices among main parties. The Assembly can make decisions on education, agriculture, environment, health, and social services. The UK government has suspended it several times but it has run successfully since 2007.