Joanne Bunting, who is Chair of the Assembly Justice Committee, said:
“The Criminal Justice Inspection report of November 2024 is brutal in its conclusions. It describes a justice system that is stagnant, rudderless and operating without an agreed vision or coordinated priorities.
This is not just a case of policy drift but a clear failure of leadership at the very top. The report found that key players across the justice system echoed long-standing concerns in informal feedback to the Chief Inspector. If those inside the system knew what was wrong, how is it that the Minister did not? And if she did know, the question becomes even more pertinent - why did Naomi Long not act?
We are now seven months on from the publication of that report, yet there is still no clarity on what short-term actions are being taken to get the system moving in the right direction. Where is the plan? What steps are being taken? The silence from the Department of Justice is deafening.
Victims, witnesses, defendants, and jutice staff are all being let down by a system that has lacked meaningful progress since the devolution of policing and justice a decade ago. Successive Justice Ministers, Alliance and Independent alike, have failed to break down silos or deliver a joined-up strategy.
Northern Ireland does not need more legislative window-dressing. We need a Department that leads, coordinates and delivers real change. The public expect justice that is fair, fast and functional, not just a Minister going through the motions.”