The departmental committees were set to hold ministers to account - surely they should do this in public and not behind closed doors

Dr Liz Fawcett

"Politicians have talked so much about the democratic deficit," she said.

"Why then are they now conducting so much of their business away from the gaze of the public and the media."

She said two out of every three Stormont committee meetings are closed to the public in contrast with devolved administrations in Edinburgh and Cardiff.

She added it was "particularly appalling" to discover that meetings in which ministers are appearing before committees are held in private.

"I found three instances but I suspect there may be more.

"It's quite incredible that this has been allowed to happen. The departmental committees were set to hold ministers to account - surely they should do this in public and not behind closed doors".

The conference at Belfast's Stormont Hotel will hear contributions from a number of researchers on various topics including the potential of the British-Irish Council, the factions within the Democratic Unionist Party and how the working of cross-border bodies is viewed.