Devolved Justice Needs Two Ministers: Sinn Fein

Should the Northern Ireland Assembly assume powers for justice in the future, there should be two, not one Minister in charge, according to Sinn Fein.

John O`Dowd (Sinn Fein, Upper Bann) told colleagues on the Assembly and Executive Review Committee that his party favoured a joint ministerial arrangement which would be reviewed after four years.

Mr O’Dowd declared his party’s position as committee members gave their initial impressions of the ministerial model which could be adopted at Stormont.

He told the committee: "Sinn Fein’s view is that we should have two ministers acting jointly as the way forward in relation to the ministerial model.

"Obviously when discussing any such matter you cannot ignore costs and the effects on costs.

"But our primary concern has to be the safeguards built into the system to safeguard community confidence. The community is going to have to have confidence in the system and the system as it is run.

"However we do see after four years the justice ministry being run under D`Hondt like any of the other ministries,” he said.

The Assembly and Executive Review Committee, which consists of the four parties on the power sharing executive, has under the chairmanship of Jeffrey Donaldson (DUP, Lagan Valley) been tasked with producing a report next February on the devolution of policing and justice.

(BMcC)