Everyone recognises that Northern Ireland's mandatory coalition system of government was established for very valid reasons - that there would be no return to the old system of one party, or one tradition, dominating of government.

It was necessary to build confidence in a devolved administration and to ensure that all shades of opinion had a say in the way the province was governed.

Yet mandatory coalition is increasingly undermining confidence in local politics. Yes, all the main parties have at least one hand on the levers of power, but there is no collective consensus on any of the policies. Every minister is effectively a law unto himself or herself and cannot be removed from office except by his own party. It is a system of government like no other in the democratic west.

So is it time to seriously consider a change to the system? It is easy to share the frustration of Ulster Unionist leader Tom Elliott at the present arrangements. He makes sense with his suggestion that there should be an all-party agreed programme for government after the next Assembly elections before ministerial posts are divided up. That would prevent to a large extent ministers towing party lines on policy, rather than attempting to agree an allparty policy.

But should the parties not go one step further and have the normal democratic principles of a governing coalition - Sinn Fein and the DUP as party strengths stand - with the SDLP, UUP, Alliance and other parties forming a vocal and, probably effective, opposition. At the moment policies are disjointed, agreement across parties and traditions hard to find and government giving the appearance of stagnation at a time when dynamism and innovative thinking is required. For many people the present system simply does not work effectively and new arrangements - with appropriate safeguards - are necessary sooner rather than later.