Debate contribution: Criminal Barristers: Withdrawal of Services
Debate contribution by Mrs Naomi Long on .
- MLA
- Mrs Naomi Long
- Party at the time
- Alliance Party
- Date
- 30 June 2026
- Type
- Debate contribution (made as a minister)
- Business
- Oral Answers to Questions
- Heading
- Criminal Barristers: Withdrawal of Services
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 5653179
Read the official Assembly record
Text
There is no doubt that the CBA withdrawal has created a significant backlog. We were already working hard to address the delays, and those have now been supplemented. Listing is a judicial function, and work on recovery is being led by the Lady Chief Justice (LCJ) for that reason. There will be a phased approach to allow initial focus on cases involving the most vulnerable victims and witnesses. That initial phase will focus on plea and sentencing hearings that are ready to proceed. Those will be listed as soon as possible; it may be possible for them to be listed over the summer period. Trials that were taken out during the withdrawal of services will be relisted, and an early date will be offered, with priority being given as follows: to cases proceeding under the under-13 protocol and under-16 arrangements; to cases involving rape, serious sexual offences and fatalities; and then to all other cases. Arraignments will be listed in phase 2 in a similar order. To allow further progress to be made, the Lady Chief Justice has also directed that plea and sentencing hearings and arraignments may be listed over summer recess at the discretion of the judge and with the agreement of the Public Prosecution Service (PPS) and the defence. We will obviously need to take a fluid approach and review progress to ensure that the necessary resources to support recovery are available. As I said at the time of the withdrawal, however, the resources available to the Department of Justice are already limited, and the money that is being spent on expanding legal aid comes at the expense of other services, including recovery. I simply wish that the withdrawal had never happened, because, as the family and civil Bar can attest to, the outcome would not have been any different had the CBA continued to work through that period rather than withdraw its services.
317 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Assessment
Jev’s structured answers met the documented threshold for “not qualifying”.
- Overall probability that the activity is being used to promote, exploit or escalate an identity-based controversy: 0.04 (qualifying needs at least 0.70; at or below 0.30 is not qualifying).
- None of the five culture-war criteria was met (each was below 0.60).
- Assessed as legitimate policy scrutiny (0.89).
- No identity-based framing was identified (1.00).
- The overall probability was at or below the not-qualifying threshold.
This is an AI-generated assessment of the text, made against published criteria. It is not a finding of fact about the MLA or their intentions. The Assembly record itself is the fact.
Jev’s structured answers
| Question | Probability | Met? |
|---|---|---|
| Identity framing | 0.03 | No |
| Sectarian or communal antagonism | 0.02 | No |
| Cultural grievance politics | 0.01 | No |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.03 | No |
| Controversy escalation | 0.03 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.89 | Yes |
| Overall judgement | 0.04 | At or below not-qualifying threshold |
| Option | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-based framing (chosen) | 1.00 |
| Reports or questions it | 0.00 |
| Criticises or condemns it | 0.00 |
| Adopts it | 0.00 |
| Subject | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-related subject | 0.67 |
| Sexism, misogyny, ageism and other equality groups | 0.26 |
| Gender, sexuality, abortion and related social issues | 0.05 |
| Legacy of the Troubles, victims and paramilitarism | 0.01 |
| Another identity-related subject | 0.01 |
Assessed 21 October 2026 at 16:10 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
Disagree with this assessment?
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