List of Northern Ireland ministers, government departments and executive agencies

A list of Northern Ireland government departments, their agencies and their ministers and related organisations. The devolved government of Northern Ireland (the Northern Ireland Executive) is responsible for most public services in the region but some services are also provided by the United Kingdom Government and cross-border bodies under the North/South Ministerial Council. Public bodies take several forms with some reporting directly to their department (agencies) and others operating having more independence as they advise government (non-departmental public bodies).

Below the regional tier of public bodies, public services are also provided by 11 local authorities, one educational authority and five health and social care trusts. Others are accountable directly to the Northern Ireland Assembly or to external organisations, like the European Union.

Ministers

Northern Ireland Executive

First Minister
Deputy First Minister
- Junior Ministers (accountable to the First Minister and deputy First Minister)
Minister for Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs
Minister for Communities
Minister for Economy
Minister for Education
Minister for Finance
Minister for Health
Minister for Infrastructure
Minister for Justice

United Kingdom Government

Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
- Minister of State for Northern Ireland
- Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Northern Ireland

Law officers

Attorney General for Northern Ireland (advisor to the Northern Ireland Executive)
Advocate General for Northern Ireland (advisor to the United Kingdom Government, also Attorney General for England and Wales)

Northern Ireland Executive

The Executive Office
- Commissioner for Public Appointments for Northern Ireland (CPANI)
- Historical Institutional Abuse Redress Board
- North/South Ministerial Council Joint Secretariat (North)
- Office of the Attorney General for Northern Ireland
- Victims' Payments Board
- Non-Departmental Public Bodies:
  - Community Relations Council (Northern Ireland)
  - Commission for Victims and Survivors for Northern Ireland
  - Commissioner for Survivors of Institutional Childhood Abuse
  - Equality Commission for Northern Ireland
  - Maze Long Kesh Development Corporation
  - Northern Ireland Judicial Appointments Commission
  - Strategic Investment Board
  - Victims and Survivors Service

Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA)
- Executive Agencies:
  - Forest Service Northern Ireland
  - Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA)
- Non-Departmental Public Bodies:
  - Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute
  - Agricultural Wages Board for Northern Ireland
  - Drainage Council for Northern Ireland
  - Livestock & Meat Commission for Northern Ireland
  - Northern Ireland Fisheries Harbour Authority
- Advisory Bodies:
  - Council for Nature Conservation and the Countryside (CNCC)
- College of Agriculture, Food and Rural Enterprise

Department for Communities (DfC)
- Child Maintenance Service
- Local Government Boundaries Commissioner for Northern Ireland
- Office of the Discretionary Support Commissioner
- Public Record Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI)
- Rent Assessment Panel
- Vaughan's Charitable Trust
- Non-Departmental Public Bodies:
  - Armagh Observatory and Armagh Planetarium
  - Arts Council of Northern Ireland
  - Charity Commission for Northern Ireland
  - Commissioner for Older People for Northern Ireland
  - Libraries Northern Ireland (Libraries NI)
  - Local Government Staff Commission
  - National Museums and Galleries of Northern Ireland
  - Northern Ireland Commissioner for Children and Young People
  - Northern Ireland Local Government Officers' Superannuation Committee
  - Northern Ireland Museums Council
  - Sport Northern Ireland (Sport NI)
- Advisory Bodies:
  - Charities Advisory Committee
  - Historic Buildings Council
  - Historic Monuments Council (HMC)
  - Ministerial Advisory Group on Architecture and Built Environment (MAG)
- Public Corporations:
  - Northern Ireland Housing Executive (NIHE)
  - Ulster Supported Employment Limited (USEL)

Department of Education (DE)
- Non-Departmental Public Bodies:
  - Comhairle na Gaelscolaíochta
  - Council for Catholic Maintained Schools
  - Controlled Schools' Support Council
  - Education Authority
  - General Teaching Council for Northern Ireland
  - Middletown Centre for Autism
  - Northern Ireland Council for Integrated Education
  - Northern Ireland Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment
  - Youth Council for Northern Ireland
- Tribunals:
  - Exceptional Circumstances Body

Department for the Economy (DfE)
- Geological Survey of Northern Ireland
- Office of The Industrial Tribunals and The Fair Employment Tribunal
- Non-Departmental Public Bodies:
  - Construction and Industry Training Board Northern Ireland (CITB-NI)
  - General Consumer Council for Northern Ireland (GCCNI)
  - Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland (HSENI)
  - Invest Northern Ireland (Invest NI)
  - Labour Relations Agency (LRA)
  - Northern Ireland Screen (NIS)
  - Stranmillis University College
  - Tourism Northern Ireland (Tourism NI)
- Public Corporations:
  - Harland and Wolff
- Further Education Colleges:
  - Belfast Metropolitan College
  - Northern Regional College
  - North West Regional College
  - Southern Regional College
  - South Eastern Regional College
  - South West College
- Higher Education Institutes:
  - Open University
  - Queen's University Belfast
  - St. Mary's University College
  - Ulster University

Department of Finance (DoF)
- Land and Property Services (LPS)
  - Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland (OSNI)
- Executive Agencies:
  - Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA)
- Non-Departmental Public Bodies:
  - Civil Service Appeals Board (CSAB)
  - Lay Observer for Northern Ireland
  - Northern Ireland Building Regulations Advisory Committee (NIBRAC)
  - Northern Ireland Fiscal Council (NI Fiscal Council)
  - Northern Ireland Civil Service Pension Board (NICSPB)
  - Procurement Board
  - Statistics Advisory Committee (SAC)

Department of Health (DoH)
- Executive Agencies:
  - Public Health Agency
- Health and Social Care Trusts:
  - Belfast Health and Social Care Trust
  - Northern Health and Social Care Trust
  - South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust
  - Southern Health and Social Care Trust
  - Western Health and Social Care Trust
  - Northern Ireland Ambulance Service Health and Social Care Trust
- Health and Social Care Bodies:
  - Children's Court Guardian Agency for Northern Ireland
  - Northern Ireland Blood Transfusion Service
  - Northern Ireland Medical and Dental Training Agency
  - Regional Business Services Organisation (BSO)
  - Patient and Client Council
- Non-Departmental Public Bodies:
  - Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service
  - Northern Ireland Practice and Education Council for Nursing and Midwifery
  - Northern Ireland Social Care Council
  - Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority (RQIA)
- Tribunals:
  - Tribunal under Schedule 11 to the HPSS (NI) Order 1972 (meets on an ad-hoc basis)
- Clinical and Excellence Awards Committee (non-executive)
- Poisons Board (non-executive)
- Safeguarding Board for Northern Ireland

Department for Infrastructure (DfI)
- DfI Rivers
- DfI Roads
- Executive Agencies:
  - Driver and Vehicle Agency (DVA)
- Public Corporations:
  - Northern Ireland Transport Holding Company (trades as Translink)
  - Northern Ireland Water
- Trust Ports:
  - Belfast Harbour Commissioners
  - Londonderry Port and Harbour Commissioners
  - Warrenpoint Harbour Authority

Department of Justice (DoJ)
- Executive Agencies:
  - Forensic Science Northern Ireland
  - Legal Services Agency Northern Ireland
  - Northern Ireland Courts and Tribunals Service
  - Northern Ireland Prison Service
  - Youth Justice Agency of Northern Ireland
- Non-Departmental Public Bodies:
  - Criminal Justice Inspection Northern Ireland
  - Northern Ireland Police Fund
  - Northern Ireland Policing Board
  - Northern Ireland Police Ombudsman
  - Police Rehabilitation and Retraining Trust
  - Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI)
  - Probation Board for Northern Ireland (PBNI)
  - Royal Ulster Constabulary George Cross Foundation
- Northern Ireland Prisoner Ombudsman
- Planning Appeals Commission
- Water Appeals Commission

Public Prosecution Service for Northern Ireland (PPSNI) Non-Ministerial Department

Local government

Local authorities

Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council
Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon District Council
Belfast City Council
Causeway Coast and Glens District Council
Derry and Strabane District Council
Fermanagh and Omagh District Council
Lisburn and Castlereagh District Council
Mid and East Antrim District Council
Mid-Ulster District Council
Newry, Mourne and Down District Council
North Down and Ards District Council

UK Government

The following departments of the United Kingdom government and UK-wide public bodies operate in Northern Ireland.

Northern Ireland Office (NIO)

The NIO is the UK department responsible for Northern Ireland affairs and is led by the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, who represents Northern Ireland interests at Cabinet level. It is responsible for the following public bodies:

Boundary Commission for Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission
Parades Commission

Executive agencies (by department)

Department for Business and Trade:
- Companies House
Home Office:
- HM Passport Office
- UK Visas and Immigration
Department for Transport:
- Maritime and Coastguard Agency

Non-departmental public bodies (outside NIO, by department)

Department for Science, Innovation and Technology:
- Information Commissioner's Office

Non-ministerial departments (answerable to Parliament)

Food Standards Agency
HM Revenue and Customs

Other regulators

Bank of England
Electoral Commission
Office of Communications

Defence and security services

British Armed Forces (principally the British Army)
Security Service (MI5)

Public bodies operating from Great Britain

Several public bodies have a UK-wide remit for reserved and excepted matters in Northern Ireland but operate from Great Britain.

Department for Culture, Media and Sport:
- National Lottery Commission
Ministry of Defence:
- United Kingdom Hydrographic Office
Department for Energy Security and Net Zero:
- Nuclear Decommissioning Authority
- United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
- Rural Payments Agency
- Sea Fish Industry Authority
Department of Health and Social Care:
- Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority
- Human Tissue Authority
Department for Science, Innovation and Technology:
- Intellectual Property Office
- Met Office
- UK Research and Innovation
Department for Transport:
- Air Accidents Investigation Branch
- Civil Aviation Authority
- Marine Accident Investigation Branch
- Rail Accident Investigation Branch
HM Treasury:
- Crown Estate
- Financial Conduct Authority
- Royal Mint
Non-ministerial departments:
- Competition and Markets Authority
- Serious Fraud Office

North/South Ministerial Council

The North/South Ministerial Council (NSMC) consists of Northern Ireland Executive and Irish Government ministers, and is designed to encourage co-operation between the two jurisdictions on Ireland. The similar British-Irish Council, which consists of ministers from all countries of the British Isles (also known as Britain and Ireland), has no related public bodies.

NSMC cross-border bodies:

Food Safety Promotion Board
Foyle, Carlingford and Irish Lights Commission
- Loughs Agency
- Lights Agency (proposed)
Institute of Public Health (all-Ireland)
InterTradeIreland
North/South Language Body
- Foras na Gaeilge
- Tha Boord o Ulstèr-Scotch (Ulster-Scots Agency)
Special European Union Programmes Body (SEUPB)
Tourism Ireland
Waterways Ireland

External organisations

Independent Monitoring Commission (accountable to UK Government and Irish Government)
Irish Department of Foreign Affairs (through British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference joint secretariat)
United States Department of State (US Consulate-General, Belfast)