text: Now the business organisation, the CBI, has become the latest civil society group to argue that a restructure is required.
  This week, the independent unionist MLA John McCallister has tabled a bill in the assembly that proposes big changes to the workings of the devolved parliament and government.
  The stalled Stormont House Agreement outlined plans for a formal opposition.
  But Mr McCallister's Assembly and Executive Reform Bill goes much further.
  He argues that his plans would help to move politics in Northern Ireland away from tribal divisions.
  "The public mood out there is that people desperately want to see this place working and functional - being about evidence-based policy making," he says.
  "Being able to change the government is a fundamental right of democracy."
  Under his plans, parties would have to gain 18 or more seats to be automatically entitled to enter the executive.
  They would negotiate with each other to agree a Programme for Government before taking up ministerial positions.
  Any party with fewer than 18 seats would not be excluded from the executive, as they could be included on the basis of the negotiations.
  But if a party did not agree with the Programme for Government, they would go into an enhanced opposition.
  First Minister's Questions in the assembly would work more like Prime Minister's Questions at Westminster.
  There would be a leader and deputy leader of the opposition, likely to be the leaders of the two largest non-executive parties.
  At least 15 days a year would be set aside for opposition business.
  Smaller parties could have a bigger say.
  In the Irish parliament, or DÃ¡il, independents have signed up to a technical group to get improved speaking rights.
  The Stormont bill proposes a similar system in Northern Ireland, suggesting that six or more MLAs could form a group that would be represented on the committee that decides assembly business.
  At the moment, 89 out of the 108 MLAs are in the parties that make up the executive.
  Queen's University Belfast professor Yvonne Galligan, who has carried out studies that have compared democratic institutions, says having an opposition makes more sense to voters.
  "The government and opposition model is one which is very familiar to people on these islands," she says.
  "I think that allows people to clearly distinguish between parties and political platforms.
  "A strong parliament and a strong opposition would help to shore up people's confidence in our democratic institutions."
  When it comes to critiques of the parliamentary system, Stormont is not alone.
  Mary Fee MSP, a member of Scottish Labour's shadow cabinet, told me that the Scottish Parliament's means of holding government to account had flaws.
  She says parliamentary committees should be fewer in number, but have more members, and be given more time to scrutinise legislation.
  "Committee members should take off their party hats when they go into committee," she says.
  "That is something that has dogged us. With a majority government, members of the governing party will more often toe the party line and not scrutinise the government."
  Besides government and opposition, there are other significant measures in Mr McCallister's bill.
  It would abolish community designation, the system by which MLAs must register as unionist, nationalist, or "other".
  Currently, 30 signatures on a "petition of concern" will trigger a cross-community vote, under which a majority of unionists and nationalists are necessary for a motion to pass.
  The bill would replace petitions of concern with another minority protection mechanism - 30 signatures from three parties or groups would be needed to require a motion or bill to have a "weighted majority" - 60% would be the threshold for success.
  There would also be a new rule for ministers.
  Collective cabinet responsibility would be written into the ministerial code, in an attempt to stop inter-executive sniping.
  And instead of having a deputy first minister, there would be two first ministers.
  Mr McCallister says he has had indications from many of the Stormont parties that they could sign up to "much" of the bill.
  He acknowledges that some parties may have issues with the proposals to have two first ministers and to abolish community designation.
  However, the South Down MLA claims that his bill is a "carefully put together package of something which will work and deliver a much more functional assembly and executive".
  Whether it is passed, in part or in full, will depend on what the assembly's bigger parties make of it.
  MLAs may hold their first debate on the bill next month.
  The View is broadcast on BBC One Northern Ireland at 22:35 on Thursday, and is available to watch afterwards on the iPlayer.
target: "Dysfunctional", "not fit for purpose", "in urgent need of reform" - these are just some of the phrases that politicians themselves have been using about the Stormont system.