The principles, content and implementation of the Good Friday Agreement (1998) and the changes made by subsequent agreements, including St Andrews (2006), Hillsborough (2010), Stormont House (2014), Fresh Start (2015) and New Decade, New Approach (2020).

What this dot point is asking

You need to explain the principles, content and implementation of the Good Friday Agreement of 1998 (also called the Belfast Agreement), and to evaluate the changes made by the subsequent agreements that followed it. The CCEA AS 1 paper expects precise knowledge of the three strands, the principle of consent, power sharing and decommissioning, and a clear sense of why the deal had to be repaired so often.

The principle of consent

Consent is the constitutional foundation of the Agreement. It reassured unionists that the Union was secure while it remained the majority preference, and it gave nationalists a peaceful, democratic route to unity through a future border poll that the Secretary of State may call if it appears likely that a majority would vote for a united Ireland. This replaced violence with the ballot box as the only legitimate route to constitutional change.

The three strands

The Agreement is built around three interlocking strands that connect Northern Ireland internally, to the Republic, and to Britain.

• Strand One created the internal institutions: a 108-member (later 90-member) Northern Ireland Assembly elected by single transferable vote and a cross-community Executive of ministers.
• Strand Two created the North/South Ministerial Council, bringing together ministers from the Northern Ireland Executive and the Irish government to develop cooperation on agreed areas such as agriculture, transport and health.
• Strand Three created the British-Irish Council (linking the two governments with the devolved administrations, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man) and the British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference, replacing the 1985 Anglo-Irish Agreement's machinery.

Rights, policing and decommissioning

Beyond the institutions, the Agreement contained the commitments that made it acceptable to former combatants and to a divided society:

• Human rights and equality. A Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission and an Equality Commission were created, and the European Convention on Human Rights was incorporated.
• Policing reform. The Patten Report (1999) led to the replacement of the Royal Ulster Constabulary by the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) in 2001, with a 50:50 Catholic-Protestant recruitment rule for a period and new accountability through the Policing Board.
• Prisoner releases. Paramilitary prisoners from organisations on ceasefire were released early, a deeply controversial provision for victims.
• Decommissioning. Paramilitary groups committed to put their weapons "beyond use". The IRA completed decommissioning in 2005, and loyalist groups followed later. Disputes over the pace of decommissioning were the main cause of the early suspensions.

The subsequent agreements

Implementation was repeatedly stalled, and the institutions were suspended (notably from 2002 to 2007). A series of agreements rebuilt and amended the original deal:

• St Andrews Agreement (2006). Secured DUP and Sinn Fein agreement to share power, with the DUP accepting the institutions and Sinn Fein endorsing the PSNI. It changed the rules so that the First Minister is nominated by the largest party overall and the deputy First Minister by the largest party in the second-largest designation, and it required ministers to pledge support for the rule of law.
• Hillsborough Castle Agreement (2010). Completed the transfer of policing and justice powers to a devolved Department of Justice, with a justice minister elected by cross-community vote.
• Stormont House Agreement (2014). Addressed the budget, welfare reform, flags, parading and dealing with the legacy of the past.
• Fresh Start Agreement (2015). Resolved a welfare and finance crisis and set up bodies to tackle continuing paramilitary activity.
• New Decade, New Approach (2020). Restored the Assembly and Executive after a three-year collapse (from January 2017, triggered by the Renewable Heat Incentive scandal), with reforms including limits on the petition of concern and new sustainability measures.

Examples in context

A model AS paragraph on implementation might read: "The Agreement's principles were widely endorsed, with 71 per cent voting yes in the Northern Ireland referendum of May 1998, but turning principle into stable government proved far harder. The central obstacle was decommissioning: unionists were reluctant to share power with Sinn Fein while the IRA retained its arsenal, and the resulting standoff led to repeated suspensions, including the long collapse from 2002 to 2007. It was only when the IRA completed decommissioning in 2005 and Sinn Fein endorsed the PSNI under the St Andrews Agreement of 2006 that the DUP agreed to enter government, producing the durable but still fragile administration of 2007. The judgement, therefore, is that the 1998 Agreement set the framework but required nearly a decade of further negotiation to implement." This shows precise knowledge and a balanced verdict.

Try this

Q1. What does the principle of consent say about Northern Ireland's constitutional status? [2 marks]

• Cue. It stays in the United Kingdom until a majority decides otherwise, and a united Ireland needs majority consent north and south.

Q2. Explain two ways the St Andrews Agreement of 2006 changed the original settlement. [6 marks]

• Cue. It changed how the First Minister and deputy First Minister are nominated, and it secured Sinn Fein support for the PSNI and DUP agreement to share power.

Q3. To what extent did the Good Friday Agreement resolve the conflict in Northern Ireland? [24 marks]

• Cue. Weigh the end of large-scale violence, the principle of consent and the institutions against repeated suspensions, continuing division and the unresolved legacy of the past. Reach a substantiated judgement.