AT STORMONT yesterday Assembly members backed plans to fast-track legislation aimed at reforming local government in Northern Ireland and cutting the number of councils from 26 to 11.
Environment Minister Arlene Foster wants to streamline local councils, giving them additional powers including housing and economic development.
Her plans come under the Reform of Public Administration (RPA) which is taking a wider view of the North's massive public administration sector.
However, her plans were opposed by both the Ulster Unionists and the Alliance party, who claimed that the Minister's attempts to appoint a boundary commission to draw up plans for the enlarged council areas were undemocratic.
Alliance leader David Ford told the Assembly that Ms Foster's plans amounted to a blank cheque and he would not give one to any boundary commissioner.
For the UUP, Sam Gardiner said: "The parliamentary process has been the backbone of democracy and in pushing this piece of legislation and others through the Assembly we are in danger of setting a harmful precedent."
The Minister defended her proposal, claiming the tight three-week timeframe would show people the Executive was serious about council reform.
"We decided to do that in a very fast and focused way because in many people's minds Reform of Public Administration has become something that isn't going to happen at any time and we should be indicating to the wider community, including I have to say, staff in local government, that not only is RPA going to happen but it's going to happen and here is the timeline," she said.
The SDLP claimed that disagreements between the DUP and Sinn Féin were the cause of any delay, a claim denied by Sinn Féin.
Patsy McGlone, SDLP spokesman on the issue, said: "This matter could have been resolved long, long before now and in fact could have left us in a position where we could give it full proper scrutiny instead of being faced with the situation of accelerated passage," he said.
Later in the Assembly, Minister for Education Caitríona Ruane was sharply critical of one Derry school's plans to use its own entrance exam following the planned abolition of the controversial 11-plus transfer test.
Ms Ruane said she had written to Lumen Christi school saying she would not help finance such a scheme or any legal challenges which could follow it.
Sinn Féin is resolutely opposed to academic selection in the allocation of grammar school places on the basis that it offends against social justice.
Ms Ruane said she was "very disappointed" at the plan which, she said, was a "particularly unhelpful contribution".