Question Time: Justice Monday 7 September 2015
Minister of
Justice, David Ford, was asked what contact he has had with the Secretary of
State and the Chief Constable of the PSNI regarding the murder of Kevin
McGuigan during today’s
Question Time. The Minister described the murders of Mr McGuigan and Gerard Davison
as “cowardly and despicable acts”. Mr Ford remains in contact with the Chief
Constable and Secretary of State but cannot reveal any details due to the
ongoing, live nature of the investigation. In response to the Chief Constable’s
belief that the murder was carried out by members of the Provisional IRA,
the Minister said, “That is something that I believe requires the attention of
all of us to ensure that we provide a political solution that moves away from
these kinds of troubles leading to death and destruction and loss on our
streets”, adding “I also believe that we need to ensure that we create the
atmosphere in which an organisation that is said to not be active but clearly
still has members who have engaged in criminality should fade away entirely in
line with what we wish to see, particularly those of us who supported the Good
Friday Agreement and its concept of moving to a different society.”
Robin Swann
MLA also asked the Minister about the number of assaults on on-duty prison
officers in the last four years. Mr Ford revealed that there have been 282
assaults in that time period with the main contributing factor identified as
prison overcrowding. As a result a significant number of prisoners were moved
from crowded residential areas in 2014 and the use of accommodation is kept
under regular review. A pilot programme to evaluate the effectiveness of
body-worn cameras for prison staff has also been launched and initial findings
have shown that it appears to prove a significant deterrent. Discussing the
resources available to the Prison Service, the Minister said that budgetary
restrictions mean that he would never be fully satisfied but that good work is
being done and significant progress is being made.
During the
regular period for oral questions Mr Ford also answered questions on the
rationalisation of the court estate, Access NI checks, legacy inquests and the
current status of the Provisional IRA. During the period for topical questions
the Minister continued to answer Members’ questions on paramilitaries, NIACRO
funding, waste water treatment at Magilligan and sectarian hate crimes.
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