There should be “an element of independent arbitration” in a reformed Petition of Concern in the Northern Ireland Assembly, the Green Party in Northern Ireland has said.

In a written submission to Northern Ireland Secretary James Brokenshire and other political parties, the Greens have argued for fundamental reform of the Petition of Concern system.

Green leader Steven Agnew has also called for an end to the system of community designation at Stormont.

He said: “Under the current system, MLAs who designate as ‘other’ are disadvantaged as their votes do not count in a cross community vote.

“This creates two tiers of MLAs and punishes those parties which are cross community, denying their voters full representation.

“In the last election, 105,344 first preference votes were given to parties who did not designate.

“These votes have essentially been wiped out when it comes to key votes in the Assembly such as the budget, election of the Speaker or when a valid Petition of Concern is tabled.”

He added: “There is a clear democratic deficit in this instance. The Petition of Concern was designed to protect minority parties but the reality is that, alongside community designation, it fosters sectarian politics and division.”

The Greens say the remit of Petitions of Concern should be limited to matters of national identity, legacy issues and matters relating to the constitution.

A three-person panel should decide, on a case-by-case basis, whether an issue falls under this category. If it does, a weighted two-thirds majority of MLAs (60) would have to be in favour for a motion to be passed.