Justice Minister Naomi Long has said she is disappointed that a Budget has still not been agreed and warned that the draft position would leave Northern Ireland’s justice system under further pressure.
In a statement, Ms Long said she would continue to engage with ministerial colleagues to seek agreement and would keep pressing for additional funding for the justice sector, both for current needs and future years.
She said the Department of Justice had received some modest increases over the past three years, but argued they did not address what she described as historic underfunding. That lack of investment, she said, had hindered reform and transformation across the department.
According to the minister, the allocations in the proposed draft Budget would not reduce the funding gap and would continue to affect areas including policing, prisons, legal aid, courts and probation.
Ms Long said the department had very limited scope left for further savings. She said its proportional budget strength had declined while demand on the justice system had risen starkly, requiring efficiencies to be made each year.
She warned that, if the draft Budget were implemented without additional funding for inescapable pressures, it would lead to a further slowing down of the justice system and compromise its ability to preserve life, protect the public and keep people safe.