Finance Minister Máirtín Ó Muilleoir is back on his feet, this time moving a motion to approve a statutory rule, Rates (Increased Reduction for Recreational Hereditaments) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2016, external.

Earlier this year, the Rates (Amendments) Act 2016, external was passed, and this rule adds to it and will "secure an increase to 100% rate relief for community amateur sports club without a licensed bar on their premises".

Emma Pengelly, who chairs the Finance Committee, says the rule was supported by the committee and the move will be welcomed by small clubs that find it difficult to raise funds.

The rule is approved on an oral vote.

The TUV's Jim Allister, who is a barrister by profession, warmly welcomes the reprieve for Ballymena Courthouse, which is situated in his constituency.

To the amusement of other members, he describes it as "a place where I spent in my time many happy, challenging and, I suppose, rewarding hours".

Former justice minister David Ford says the minister has made it clear that this is her "own personal decision".

He asks how she intends "to fund the £1.1m, which will now be spent on keeping half-empty courthouses in operation".

The minister says Mr Ford "is absolutely right - it is a personal decision because I am now the minister of justice".

She says she has listened to members and has received a lot of correspondence from local government on the matter, adding that there is a need for a wider impact assessment.

Ulster Unionist Doug Beattie thanks the minister for "her very welcome statement", while the DUP's Paul Frew calls it "a strong decision".

Michaela Boyle of Sinn Féin says it is a "good news story".

The SDLP's Alex Attwood wants to know why the minister said yesterday she could not discuss the court estate "pending the JR (judicial review)" but felt able to make this announcement today.

"I think its perfectly reasonable that I would want to consider the views of the people in this house and then come to a decision like this," the minister replies.

Justice Minister Claire Sugden makes a brief statement saying that she is reversing the decision of the previous minister David Ford to close six courthouses across Northern Ireland.

The courthouses are in Armagh, Ballymena (below), Lisburn, Limavady, Magherafelt and Strabane.

She says that the courts service "will have to find savings in other areas of their budget" as a result of her decision.

The minister adds that "given the changing justice landscape, I have concluded that we should retain maximum flexibility within the court estate for the time being".

Mr Ó Muilleoir is challenged by the SDLP's Nichola Mallon to shed more light on the new system the executive is using in allocating money in the monitoring rounds.

He says that previously, ministers came to the Department of Finance with bids "as long as your arm, and usually chancing your arm".

But he says that the new method requires departments to make reallocations within their own budgets first of all, and if they are to place bids they have to be "serious", "thought out" and "value for money".

The process has helped the executive to deal with financial pressures facing it "in an efficient manner, in a timely manner," he adds.

With Question Time at an end, we return to the finance minister's outline of the executive's reallocation of its unspent funds.

UUP MLA Roy Beggs raises the matter of the £5m community regeneration fund that Mr Ó Muilleoir announced earlier, asking how it will get the maximum bang for its buck and seeks guarantees that it will be spent before the end of the financial year.

The minister says the money is for projects that "oven-ready", rather than ones beginning at "ground zero".

He adds that the investment is only a "small intervention in peace building projects" and he wants to put in place a larger package next year.

The DUP's Joanne Bunting asks about renewed threats to jobs at the aerospace company Bombardier.

The minister says he has spoken to senior Bombardier executives and emphasised that he "will do all that I possibly can to fight to save as many jobs" as possible.

Image source, Pacemaker

Mr Hamilton says he has also met trade unions, and he pays tribute to the high skills of the Northern Ireland workforce.

He says the latest announcement has been "very troubling news".

Not for the first time, the matter of which box Mr Hamilton crossed on his EU referendum ballot paper is raised in the chamber.

Alliance Party MLA Chris Lyttle asks the minister "why he has been so reluctant to tell the people of Northern Ireland how he voted in the EU referendum".

Image source, Getty Images

Mr Hamilton says, there are some who would wish to "go back over again and again and again the referendum campaign".

He says that "irrespective of how people voted" his job now "is to focus on getting the best deal for Northern Ireland".

The impact Brexit could have on universities is a concern for the SDLP's Claire Hanna.

She asks what "mitigation plans" the minister has in place to address a potential "shortfall in funding if we lose the Horizon 2020 fund".

Horizon 2020 is the EU's biggest research and innovation programme.

Mr Hamilton refers to "announcements made recently by the chancellor in terms of securing funding right up to and beyond leaving the EU in respect of Horizon 2020".

In reply to Ms Hanna's comments about Northern Ireland becoming a less attractive destination for EU students, the minister says the number of international students "now outweighs, just slightly, the EU students".

Chris Buckler
BBC Ireland Correspondent

Health Minister Michelle O'Neill outlined her vision for Northern Ireland's healthcare system earlier, but it is broad in its ideas and ambitions.

And certainly, at this stage, many of her points are lacking in detail and questions remain on how they will be funded.

So, for example, she talks about addressing the problem of the region's waiting lists, which are among the longest in the UK.

But there are no targets and no costings here.

The SDLP's Mark H Durkan asks about any discussions the minister has had with senior representatives of Fujitsu.

The Japanese electronics firm employs 800 people in Northern Ireland, 550 in Belfast and 250 in Londonderry, and earlier this month it announced job cuts of up to 1,800 posts across the UK.

Image source, Reuters

Mr Hamilton confirms he has met senior executives from the firm and that Northern Ireland has a "long-established relationship with Fujitsu".

He says the company's review "will be both complex and challenging" and adds that he has asked Invest NI officials to remain in contact with the company.

Taking his place at the despatch box now is Simon Hamilton, ready to answer members' questions on his work at Department for the Economy.  

More than 90% of eligible applicants have received an advance from the Basic Payment Scheme, which provides European money to farmers. 

Image source, Pacemaker

A total of £158.5m has been spread across 21,111 farmers, she says, and her department, which validates the claims, has passed its "challenging target" of 80%.

The agri-food sector "much more important" to the economy in Northern Ireland than it is other parts of the UK, the minister says, and discussions are happening with Westminster to find a model for funding support farmers after the UK leaves the EU.

Ms McIlveen says she met Environment Secretary Andrea Leadsom and Farming Minister George Eustice recently and "impressed on them the unique position of our agri-food sector".

DUP MLA suggests Mr Eustice has been "thinking outside the box" in terms of what shape a subsidy system would take.

And Ms McIlveen says there is an "opportunity for something different" to the structure of the Single Farm Payment system, and ideally a solution would be found that is "bespoke to the needs we have here".

The matter of fish kills in polluted rivers is the first one for the minister to address, after the UUP's Harold McKee suggests that penalties for causing pollution incidents are proving to be "ineffective".

He raises the recent kill at Annsborough River near Newcastle in County Down, for which Northern Ireland Water accepted responsibility.

Image source, Ulster Angling Federation

Alliance Party MLA Trevor Lunn adds to Mr McKee's concerns, saying the fines for pollution incidents are "piffling".

There have been 44 fish kills due to pollution since January 2012, the minister reveals.  

"Very often it doesn't seem that the fine is commensurate with the crime which has been committed," Miss McIlveen says, adding that she's "open to conversations" on changing the penalties.

Michelle McIlveen is answering questions from members on the floor of the house on her brief at the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs.

As the Business Committee is holding its regular Tuesday meeting to decide on next week's assembly agenda, Speaker Robin Newton adjourns the assembly for lunch.

Join us at 14:00 for Question Time with the agriculture and economy ministers.

Alex Attwood of the SDLP wants to know if the devolution of corporation tax has been put on the "back-boiler".

The minister says he presumes the member means "back-burner".

Mr Ó Muilleoir says intense negotiation will have to wait until after the government makes a clear declaration on 23 November of what direction it will take its own corporation tax rate.

But he adds: "I am committed, confident we will introduce a reduced rate of corporation tax on 1 April 2018."

UUP leader Mike Nesbitt says the government has not delivered £5m to address paramilitary activity "because the executive does not have a proper plan".

He asks if the minister is "embarrassed that the executive has to submit its homework to London for marking".

Mr Ó Muilleoir says he has made it clear to the Treasury's chief secretary "that we would deliver stable, sustainable budgets".

He adds that "the people who make the decisions ultimately will be our ministers".