Justice Minister Announces Additional Funding For Department

Justice Minister Naomi Long has welcomed the allocation of an additional £39.3 million to the Department of Justice following the October Monitoring Round. This funding will be used to address various pressures within the justice system, including those arising from the civil disorder during the summer.

The Minister highlighted the department's proactive approach to reducing expenditure and managing vacancies. She noted that a slight decrease in prison population has allowed for the reprioritisation of £7.4 million to address other pressing issues. The Minister said: "There are many areas of justice that are experiencing unprecedented pressures, and I have had to make decisions to direct additional funding to where I believe it will make the most impact at this time. This includes an additional allocation of £36.7m to the PSNI. This further funding meets in full the pressures identified by the PSNI to sustain and stabilise policing in this financial year.

"I am also allocating £5.2m to Legal Aid which will enable the processing of more legal aid payments and reduced payment times. I hope this will alleviate some of the strain being reported by the legal profession at this time."

"Whilst the improved budget will offer some reassurance and stability, we must be cognisant of the challenges that remain, including a shortfall in meeting exceptional pressures of £227m. We are very much demand-led, and the majority of my department's costs are inescapable. We cannot control the volume of calls to the PSNI; the number of cases in our courts; the amount of legal aid required to provide access to justice; the amount of compensation claims; or the number of people committed to our prisons or placed on probation. I am determined in my efforts to continue to push for a better financial settlement for the Department of Justice."