BY MICHAEL BRESLIN

We were well advised beforehand by his secretariat: 'When speaking on behalf of the Assembly, the Speaker confines himself to matters relating to the operation of the Assembly. Similarly, the Speaker will only make statements to the Press on factual or procedural matters relating to the Assembly.'

But, as it turned out, the Speaker, William Hay (58) only ducked the one question: 'the calibre of the Ministers in the Executive'.

As Speaker, he receives VIP visitors to Parliament Buildings, including Heads of State, Ambassadors and senior politicians. These visits range from courtesy calls to a programme of briefings with lunches or formal dinners.

But, back to his main role: keeping the business of the Assembly flowing. Readers will be familiar with the Speaker of the House of Commons and how, at times, he/she has to shout, Order, order' to secure calm.

William Hay agreed it was a role that called for a cool head and he readily admitted he had an easy-going nature: "I was the first Speaker to be elected by all of the parties in the Assembly in May, 2007 and I have only suspended two or three members in that time.

"I don't allow anybody to annoy me. I am lucky that's my nature. So, I don't upset people that way. In my job, it's always good to have a listening ear, to be able to talk to people at their own level and not talk down to them.

"At the end of the day, if you can solve or help solve a problem and bring people with you, sure that's the best way."

One or two of those he has 'red carded' were from his own party (DUP), but while he did so with a heavy heart, he had other things to think about.

"I have got to maintain the trust of the other parties. You do get people who get uptight and angry about my rulings, but my role is to protect the integrity of the Assembly and the business going through the Assembly. I think most parties and members realise that, when they have crossed the line, then they have crossed it."

He believes his 'open door ' policy has contributed to the general good behaviour of MLA's: "I bring them in for a cup of tea or coffee, and sit them down and then explain my ruling. When I see other assemblies and parliaments which are difficult and I come here, I realise the vast, vast majority of our elected representatives are well behaved."

Yes, he was all for bridging the gap between Stormont and the people, hence the series of roadshows across the North, including Enniskillen.

"It is hard for people to understand the difference between the Assembly, the committee structure and the Executive, so we have to get out there and sell the Assembly. We need to have a listening ear for people and I think the way you can do that is to connect with people on the ground.

"It's giving people ownership of what's happening here. Politics in Northern Ireland is changing and people want to hear exactly what's being done for them and how all these issues are being addressed and how ordinary people themselves can address some of these issue with their MLA's."

No, he could not pick out one single issue that had proved, perhaps, too time-consuming. We had suggested, perhaps, the Maze Stadium, the Transfer 2010 arrangements and the devolution of policing and justice powers.

"You have MLA's with constituency-led issues, so I could not really point to any issue that has lasted longer than any other. For the 18 months, despite the economic downturn, we have a local Assembly working for all the people of Northern Ireland and I think that ordinary people would much prefer that to Direct Rule Ministers because, at least, their MLA's are closer to the ground and can pick up on these issues."

Asked what he thought about female MLA's, he answered simply: "We don't have enough. Women make up about 50 per cent of the population here and we certainly don't have that within the Assembly, or nowhere near it. But, I think there's a consciousness in all parties that we need to bring more women, and young people, into the politics of Northern Ireland because, for one thing, women bring a calming influence to issues."

Mr Hay predicted that, when the 2011 Assembly elections comes around, we will see more women involved: "No matter where you go, women are not represented as they should be and that's for a number of reasons but, hopefully, when politics are stabilised, the women of Northern Ireland will seize a unique opportunity to get involved and make politics a career."

Arguably - and Mr Hay did not make any comment on this - live televised Parliamentary debates can be a bore. Plenary sessions of the Assembly are shown live but, for people at work, this is hardly suitable. Edited highlights could be an answer but, as one MLA put it, 'some of us find something better to do with our time than wasting two or three hours sitting through a debate'.

But, it is an area which he and the Commission he chairs, a corporate body which has a statutory duty to provide and maintain the services necessary to support the Assembly, have been putting their minds to. It's all to do with making meetings of the Assembly more accessible to the media so that more of what goes on is made available to the general public.

In a nutshell, that's what the Assembly Roadshows are about.