Debate contribution: Prisons: Remand Population
Debate contribution by Mrs Naomi Long on .
- MLA
- Mrs Naomi Long
- Party at the time
- Alliance Party
- Date
- 19 October 2026
- Type
- Debate contribution
- Business
- Oral Answers to Questions
- Heading
- Prisons: Remand Population
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 5795886
Read the official Assembly record
Text
The scale of our remand population is a serious issue and one of the main drivers of the critical capacity pressures that I referred to earlier. As of 1 October 2026, the total prison population was 2,266, including 1,140 — over 50% — who are being held on remand. That figure has increased by 33% since the beginning of the year and almost doubled since 2021. That puts significant pressure on the Prison Service, most acutely in Maghaberry, which is the main receiving prison. It is having a profound effect on operational delivery and increased costs, but it also impacts on our ability to deliver the rehabilitative programme. That programme is something that we want to deliver, and it could reduce offending and make Northern Ireland safer. Decisions on bail and remand are matters for the independent judiciary, but I am committed to reducing remand numbers where it is safe and appropriate to do so. That is not simply a Prison Service issue; everyone at the Criminal Justice Board will be required to play their part. A Justice-wide working group on remand has developed a programme of actions that are being considered, including the expansion of electronic monitoring and the potential for legislative changes on bail. The new bail support scheme for women, which we have discussed in the Chamber before, commences at the end of October, and, again, should help somewhat. However, it is important to note that the initiatives will take time to derive significant impact on the remand population. Given the critical pressures on the prison population and the increase in numbers on remand, the Criminal Justice Board has established a dedicated task and finish group to focus on more immediate steps that could be taken to alleviate the pressure on the Prison Service. I am not minded, Members, to consider the approach in England and Wales, where prisoners are released before the end of their sentences, so we are trying to do everything that we can upstream of that.
333 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
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