AQO 929/16-21 Oral question to the Minister of Justice
To ask the Minister of Justice for an update on legacy inquests.
Asked by Naomi Long MLA on 9 January 2017
- Answered
- Oral
- Tabled
- 9 January 2017
- Answer due by
- 17 January 2017
- Answered
- 17 January 20178 days after tabling
- Department
- Department of Justice
- Priority question
- No
Answer
I remain committed to securing appropriate funding to ensure legacy inquests can be completed in line with the Lord Chief Justice’s five year plan.
Some progress is being made on addressing the backlog of cases with the limited resources that my Department has been able to make available in the current year.
I am hopeful that eight of the 56 legacy inquest cases will be closed in this financial year. However, significant additional resources will be required to complete the remaining cases.
Progressing the Lord Chief Justice’s five year plan, with its associated reforms, is wholly dependent on the required additional funding being made available. Without the necessary funding, legacy inquests will continue to proceed at an unacceptably slow pace.