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My initial answer made clear my views on paramilitarism. I have been consistent throughout my political career that there can be no place in our society for paramilitarism. Although I respect the right of every community to respect its dead and to commemorate those matters that are important to it, we all need to be…
I thank the Minister for her answer. Does the Minister share my concern that the Executive in which her party occupies positions — an Executive with the supposed aim of stopping paramilitarism — are led by a party that puts propaganda on illegal billboards and on social media and uses every channel possible to glorify…
I will answer the first part of that question as best I can, although it is not necessarily one for the Department of Justice alone to answer. A number of factors are involved. First, there is young people's lack of lived experience. Young people see stuff on television and think that it looks exciting. If you have…
I have a quick question. I hope that we will hear that the requirements of the business plan will be met this year, given that some of the words from the First Minister indicated that they would. When that workforce plan is published, will it address what now appears to be a crisis in Catholic recruitment to the PSNI?…
I have taken every opportunity to do that: first, in the opening Budget allocations and as we have gone through the year to date; in fairness, we are only about 10 weeks into the year. Some 65% of the funding that came into the Department of Justice went to PSNI, and 35% provides for the entire remainder of the…
I will provide some clarity. As things stand, the PSNI has set aside a provisional £7 million this year for recruitment in the first year, which is the first year of the business plan. However, because that has not yet been funded by the Executive, that adds to its pressures, which are around £21 million, with £7…
I thank the Minister for her answer. Our party, of course, supports that work and was among the first to push for it. Given her meeting with the Finance Minister, can she provide any insight into which Departments may be asked to provide resource for it?
While the Minister of Finance and I have approved the PSNI workforce recovery business case, affordability remains a key concern, given the current pressures on public finances. I have heard the comments made by the First Minister, and I would like to see this funding prioritised. I then had a constructive meeting…
Children in Scotland, Wales and the Republic of Ireland have equal protection from assault with adults. The Children (Equal Protection from Assault) (Scotland) Act 2019 removed the common law defence of reasonable chastisement from the law of Scotland on 7 November 2020. It was commenced 12 months later. The Welsh…
Thank you so much, Minister. Can you outline the legislative context in which other jurisdictions in GB and Ireland operate and how children are protected there?
The current law in Northern Ireland on the physical punishment of children is based on the concept of reasonable chastisement. Article 2 of the Law Reform (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Northern Ireland) Order 2006 has the effect of restricting the grounds on which the defence of reasonable chastisement can be used. In…
I totally agree with the Member. We were all raised on a diet of stranger danger, where we were told that the people whom we had to be afraid of lurked in parks wearing macs. The truth is that they did not do that; they lived among us. If you look at the history of sexual abuse, you see that they were people in the…
I thank the Minister for her answer. She touched on the point that I wanted to raise. What can be done by her Department and by the Education Minister to raise that awareness? There was a programme called "Talk PANTS", which was absolutely excellent. What more can we do in that space so that parents, young people and…
There is no provision in Northern Ireland law for the chemical castration — I presume that that is what the Member means — of sex offenders. The Member is obviously aware that the issue was raised as part of the sentencing review that was undertaken in GB for England and Wales. The review asked the Government to look…
I thank the Member who tabled this important question. Many parents and families in my constituency care deeply about transparency about sex offenders in their community and around their children. Minister, what is your assessment of the use of the castration of known paedophiles who have been through our justice…
We are trying to progress a number of work streams that will address sexual offending and the harm that it causes. I have already strengthened the law in that area through the Justice (Sexual Offences and Trafficking Victims) Act 2022, which includes among others new offences of upskirting, downblousing, cyberflashing…
I am not suggesting that: I am suggesting that, where there is a risk and the police deem it proportionate, they will notify local families of an issue. Child safeguarding is the priority, so the police and other agencies can proactively disclose information about offenders, but that has to be proportionate, and it is…
Thank you, Minister. Minister, there have been a couple cases in my constituency, recently, in which people have been moved and housed, and it has then come out, some time later, that there is a child sex offender living in the park, much to the alarm of local residents. Are you suggesting that, every time somebody…
Existing arrangements are in place under the PSNI child protection disclosure scheme, allowing information to be disclosed to members of the public in cases where doing so is necessary to protect a child or children from serious harm. Such information may be requested by any member of the public and will be disclosed…
That is one of the issues that I raised as a member of the Executive in response to the paper that came to the Executive about the review of the housing priority scheme. In a society that is changing and developing rapidly, it is really important that we look at equity in how victims of domestic and sexual violence…
Will the Minister outline any discussions that she has had with the Minister for Communities about the ongoing review of the Housing Executive's common selection scheme in order to ensure that victims of domestic violence are properly reflected in the new points system?