Naomi Long
East Belfast · Alliance Party · Northern Ireland
“Underneath the Facebook posts to say that he had passed away, people speculated with such comments as, "Probably high on drugs", "Probably drunk", and, "Typical boy racer". There was all of that speculation. It was hurtful to the family, and it was inaccurate.”
“There are circumstances that we need to consider and be careful of. I was told, for example, that, when the issue of good character references at trial was being looked at in New South Wales — Committee members may wish to look at this for themselves — one of the groups that opposed their removal was representative of domestic abuse victi…”
“It sets out the strategic direction adopted by the Department and key partners to tackle those appalling crimes and protect vulnerable victims of exploitation.”
“The provision seeks to provide protection, via legal advice and representation for complainants, against the use of non-relevant personal material and evidence of previous sexual history being used in the court process.”
“<BR /> <BR />On the wider issue of ensuring that a withdrawal of services never happens again, I think that most of us agree that, although everyone has the right to take industrial action, no one has the right to derail and hold to ransom the entire justice system in that way.”
“Those measures will go some way towards helping to support complainants and enable them to have input into the decision-making process about what records containing their personal and sensitive information are required to be shared with the defence.”
The complete record
Every one of 7,548 lines we hold for Naomi Long, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 18 of 151.
“I urge those people to go back to work. I urge them to come back around the table with me so that we can resolve the issues in a fair way, based on the evidence that the accelerated review has presented.”
“I am waiting for that process to be completed, and I hope that it will ultimately result in an immediate return to service. As I said when I met the McCollum family, however, I believe that the CBA ought to return to service now. As Minister, I ought not to be in a position in which I feel as though I am negotiating with a gun to my head, but that is essentially what is happening. I am fearful of the attrition of victims and witnesses through the processes. I am concerned about the impact on their mental health, given the length of time that they are having to wait, and about the impact on our wider justice system, where backlogs build up and there are not the financial reserves to address them. That is doing damage to the justice system, and I argue that it is also doing damage to the credibility of the criminal Bar.”
“First, I thank the Member, who, along with her constituency colleagues, brought Kathryn and Aaron McCollum to meet me and my officials last week. Ian McCollum's case was most horrific, not just because of the loss of life but because of the circumstances in which it happened. I am relieved, for their sake, that a full trial did not have to proceed and that they were not subjected to further delay. I cannot help but be disappointed that an earlier guilty plea, which could have relieved them of a wait of four and a half years, was not forthcoming, but such is the system within which we work. <BR /> <BR />On the Criminal Bar Association strike, I have asked my officials to assess the recommendations and provide advice to me as a matter of urgency.”
“It is clear that the ICRIR sits outside the remit of the Department of Justice. It has a memorandum of understanding with a number of our arm's-length public bodies for the delivery of disclosure and services to them, but it is not within my remit. I had no part in the setting up of the previous legacy arrangements — in fact, my Department and I raised considerable concerns about those arrangements. It is not within my vires as Minister to raise those issues with the Secretary of State. The Member can rest assured, however, that I will still raise them with the Secretary of State, albeit not as Minister of Justice.”
“The PSNI estimates the cost of legacy litigation alone to be £100 million. We cannot continue to absorb those costs without proper and adequate funding from the Northern Ireland Office. One piece of learning from the report will be that the new dispensation that we enter into under the new legacy Bill that is going through Parliament will need to be adequately funded. If it is not, it will run aground and let down the people who are using it as a means of getting truth and justice.”
“I have read the executive summary: I confess that I have not yet read the full report. There are a number of things that I would reflect on. First, it is important that the NIO looks carefully at the governance arrangements because, ultimately, the ICRIR is a beast of its creation, and it is important that it ensures the implementation of the report's recommendations. <BR /> <BR />What draws my eye, I confess, is the fact that, even though it is funded by annually managed expenditure, which, as the Member will know, is much more flexible than departmental expenditure limit resource budgets, it has been a struggle for the ICRIR to manage its caseload within the boundaries of its finances. That speaks to a long-standing problem in the Department of Justice: we have had to absorb the costs of legacy since the beginning.”
“We are working in collaboration with the Department for Communities and other statutory partners to ensure that we are able to introduce such powers appropriately.”
“Police can take the offenders' names and addresses, and the prosecutions can be taken forward by councils. They can also address alcohol-related public disorder via penalty notices for disorder, as provided for by the Justice Act (Northern Ireland) 2011. In addition, the Confiscation of Alcohol (Young Persons) Act 1997 gives the police the power to require those under 18 to surrender any alcohol in public, with refusal to do so constituting an offence. There are, therefore, some powers. <BR /> <BR />The issue is the seizure of alcohol from adults. That is something that we want to see introduced, but it will require additional policy work. It is not a piece of work for just my Department.”
“I made clear that approval for the content of the Bills preceded the publication of the report to which the Member refers. It is hard for me to anticipate what will happen in the future and make provision on the basis of a recommendation that has not been made. To be fair, it would have been difficult for me to have included something in December that was not published until the following April. <BR /> <BR />There is legislation that contains powers around drinking in public, so it is not the case that people can do nothing. However, there is a question mark over whether alcohol can be seized, and it is the power of seizure that most people focus on. There are public by-laws and broader pieces of public order legislation that allow councils to prohibit drinking in designated places. Consuming alcohol in those areas is an offence.”
“That is particularly important as the powers in the Criminal Justice (Northern Ireland) Order 2008 have not been commenced as they proved to be unworkable. My Department has also committed to conducting an equality impact assessment on the issue, and work on that is in its preliminary stages.”
“The policy content for the Justice Bill was agreed by the Executive in July 2024, and the policy content for the Sentencing Bill was agreed in December 2024. The responses to a joint DOJ and Department for Communities public consultation on antisocial behaviour legislation, including drinking in public, were published in April 2025 and suggested a need for legislative reform. Policy work on that issue is ongoing, and, as I previously noted, it is the intention to bring forward legislation on the matter in the next Assembly mandate. It is a cross-cutting issue, so my Department continues to work with the Police Service of Northern Ireland and the Department for Communities to ensure that any legislation is fit for purpose.”
“My officials have already sat down at the regular tripartite meetings, and the issue emerges from time to time. However, once there is a consensus on where it should lie, we will take forward the required legislation to bring the discussion to an end. In the interim, there are responsibilities set out in legislation that simply need to be adhered to.”
“My officials have sat down and sit down regularly with the other two partners, but, whilst people are not happy with where it sits now, there is no formal agreement about where it should lie. To be clear, there are those who wish to move it to the Department, but that would not be appropriate, given that the Department has no employment role with the PSNI and it is ultimately an employment benefit scheme. There is also, I think, the assumption that, if it moved to the Department, it would offload a lot of the pressure and cost that goes along with the scheme, but it would not, because along with the transfer of functions will be the transfer of finance, and that is clear. We need to bottom out exactly what the arrangements should be.”
“The issue is about which organisation is the employer and therefore should carry forward the scheme. Frankly, the issue of which has primary responsibility is a matter for the Policing Board to resolve with the PSNI. Until there is agreement on that, there is no point in our preparing legislation with respect to what else might need to be done. The ongoing review is wider than that; it also looks at what needs to be done more generally to make the scheme sustainable and to ensure that whichever organisation ends up taking it forward remains ready to take on those responsibilities. Once it is agreed, we will look at a potential legislative vehicle that will allow us to make good progress.”
“First, it is now on a statutory footing, and that overrides the content of the document. However, to be clear, the Northern Ireland Policing Board officials are reviewing the current medical guidance document with a view to updating it, and we look forward to the 'Version 2 — September 2016' advice being updated in the near future.”
“Any changes to the operation of the injury on duty award scheme must be agreed by the organisations involved. Legislative amendments will be required before any transfer or changes to the injury on duty award scheme can be implemented.”
“The Police Service of Northern Ireland and Police Service of Northern Ireland Reserve (Injury Benefit) Regulations 2006 set out the requirements of the PSNI injury on duty award scheme. My officials are engaged with their colleagues in the Northern Ireland Policing Board and the PSNI to consider what administrative functions, legislative amendments and other changes may be required to the police injury on duty award scheme to ensure that it is proportionate and sustainable for current and future applicants. That work includes consideration of making suitable legislative amendments; where roles, responsibilities, resources and functions appropriately sit; and what structural and administrative changes may be required in each organisation.”
“There will be people living in our community who have never reached the threshold for reporting to the police and who have never been reported on or had concerns raised about them but who are, nevertheless, a danger to children. We need to ensure that parents are alert to that fact, notwithstanding that, where we know that there is a risk, we are willing to work with parents to mitigate it. <BR /> <BR />When it comes to housing, the majority of the housing issues will be dealt with by the Probation Board in conjunction with the Housing Executive and DFC, because they have primary responsibility for providing accommodation in the community.”
“Child safety and child protection are at the very core of everything that PPANI does. Ensuring that there is proper safeguarding in place is the priority. The focus on the management of offenders is with a view to keeping people safe, not keeping offenders safe, though that is, of course, part of our responsibility in a civilised society. <BR /> <BR />I agree with the Member: parents are worried when they know that a known convicted sex offender is living in their neighbourhood. We have, however, also seen very worrying examples where people who have no criminal record whatsoever and no reason to believe that they should have one are hounded from their homes due to rumours and gossip that are spread on social media. We want to guard against that. There has to be a balance.”
“Under PPANI, risk management plans, tailored to the specific circumstances, are put in place to try to minimise and manage the risk that they pose. There is a designated risk manager — either a police officer, a probation officer or a social worker — who is responsible for ensuring that a management plan is developed for the offender and implemented.”
“<BR /> <BR />As I said, the PSNI deals with those who are subject to notification requirements, and that means that the police have to receive notification of certain personal details, including the address. It also manages those who have civil prevention orders, such as sexual offences prevention orders, to manage risk from sexual harm. Conditions can include residing only at an address that is approved by the police or prohibiting the individual from going to certain places — for example, schools and play parks. The PSNI also manages individuals who are subject to statutory supervision in the community; for example, if they are on licence. The suitability of addresses for each offender living in the community is assessed on a case-by-case basis, considering all relevant factors.”
“First, from our perspective, it is about ensuring that the PSNI, the Probation Board, the Northern Ireland Housing Executive and others are able to come together to manage sexual and violent offenders who create a risk of serious harm. They take into account a range of factors when assessing the suitability of accommodation for each relevant offender being managed under PPANI. That includes whether there are children or vulnerable adults living at or frequently visiting the address, whether the accommodation is in immediate proximity to the victim or to child-centred locations and whether there are concerns about association with other offenders in the area.”
“The system is not infallible, but it works well, is proportionate and, at the same time, creates no false sense of assurance in areas where there are no registered sex offenders that there are no sex offenders in those neighbourhoods.”
“I know of significant examples where the PSNI has gone the extra mile, such as to notify a separated partner that their other half is living and consorting with someone who is a sex offender, when they have part custody of their children.”
“Vigilante action, which, as we have seen, is on the rise, can drive people, including registered sex offenders, from their homes. That makes it harder for those people to be managed safely in the community and for the risks attendant on them to be managed. <BR /> <BR />It is important to have a proportionate approach to disclosure in order to ensure that people are safe, and child safeguarding has to be a priority. The police and other agencies proactively disclose information about offenders to members of the public where it is necessary to do so to keep children safe from harm. Additionally, the child protection disclosure scheme allows individuals to apply for information about offenders. That information will be disclosed where it is necessary.”
“The Member asks a question to which there is no answer. Unfortunately, no one is in a position to consent to who else will live in their neighbourhood. Bear in mind that there will be sex offenders living in every neighbourhood who have never been convicted or discovered but are living in those communities. The issue is how we manage registered sex offenders in the community and ensure that families and young people are cognisant of the risks from sex offenders and able to report any concerning behaviour directly to the police as it happens. <BR /> <BR />Automatic disclosure could lead to members of the public being wrongly identified as sex offenders. It is a significant risk, particularly given that inaccurate or untrue information can spread on social media.”
“The PSNI generally leads on the management of offenders who are subject to notification under requirements in the Sexual Offences Act 2003, which is more generally referred to as the "sex offenders register". <BR /> <BR />I encourage any parents who are concerned about specific cases in their community to contact the police. As Justice Minister, I am open to discussion on any matters of public protection. I am mindful of the need to ensure that risk management, particularly in safeguarding children, is reflected appropriately in the statutory framework. My Department is commencing a review of public protection arrangements that will look at that matter among others.”
“I have not had any formal engagement with parents on that matter recently. However, I can confirm that senior officials from my Department have previously met concerned parents to discuss the issue. I can also confirm that, as the management of individuals convicted of sexual offences who live in the community is primarily an operational matter, the coordinator of the public protection arrangements Northern Ireland (PPANI) routinely engages with parents and other concerned stakeholders, as do representatives of the PPANI statutory agencies. Those agencies know where convicted sex offenders are housed and work collaboratively to share information and to manage any risks that are posed.”
“<BR /> <BR />The accelerated review came up with proposals, but I cannot guarantee that, if I were to implement those proposals in full, they would be acceptable to the solicitors' criminal Bar or to the criminal Bar. Previous demands that they made were met in full, and that did not result in a return to work; in fact, it resulted in an escalation of the action. Only the criminal Bar can control whether or not it returns to court. I urge it to do so, because the Member is, of course, absolutely correct on the fundamental point about the impact on victims and witnesses.”
“The Member has, as always, started from the position of assuming that I am in the wrong. It is always helpful for me to have the opportunity to correct that notion. <BR /> <BR />The truth of the matter is that there is nothing to stop the criminal Bar coming back to work at any time. That is the first thing. The criminal Bar remaining outside will not influence the outcome of the accelerated review or the outcome of my deliberations on the report of that review. The report arrived with me on 24 or 27 April — I will check the date — and is now with my officials, so that they can provide advice. I anticipate getting that advice in the next few days and will make quick decisions on a way forward. I will meet the Bar, as my officials have, and the solicitors' criminal Bar.”
“Indeed, as some Members will have seen today, innovative work is being done by the Ministry of Defence (MOD) on technology that can force the electric motors of e-bikes to switch off so that the police can seize the bikes. <BR /> <BR />I will have the meeting to look at whether there are gaps, and, if there are, we will be happy to close them. As with everything else, there is limited time left in the mandate, and we cannot simply legislate willy-nilly without going through the due process of consultation and other things. I am convinced that an area of this falls to parental responsibility. Many of the young people who drive the scooters are under 13 or 14 years old, and they certainly do not buy them out of their pocket money, so some adult responsibility has to be taken for their conduct.”
“It does not play into the victims and witnesses of crime Bill. When it comes to the wider legislative programme, however, we are still bottoming out the issue. I have invited the Chief Constable and the Infrastructure Minister to a meeting so that we can determine whether there are gaps in legislation, because it remains unclear to me that there are such gaps. For example, it is already illegal for someone to be in control of a vehicle if they are underage; it is illegal to ride that vehicle on the pavement; and it is illegal to ride it without insurance, MOT certificate and other safeguards. Those are matters of enforcement, and there are complexities around that.”
“I have therefore made the issue part of the Department's review of sentencing policy with a view to legislating in the next mandate. However, if a simple legislative change that could have an impact in this space were to be identified, I would not rule out using the victims and witnesses of crime Bill as a potential vehicle for it. <BR /> <BR />Above all, I encourage everyone to exercise personal responsibility when it comes to providing character references for use by a court, particularly in cases of domestic abuse and sexual offending, where the creation of a good character in the public eye is often part of the offending profile.”
“I thank the Member for raising the issue. I recognise how distressing it is for victims to listen to good-character references for a perpetrator who has harmed them and to feel that those references could influence the outcome of the trial or of sentencing, given that character references can play a part in both. My preference would be to end or to limit the use of good-character references in certain categories of offending, particularly domestic abuse and sexual crime. <BR /> <BR />Legally complex issues are involved, so careful policy development and consultation are required to ensure that any resultant legislation is compliant with the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), including the article 6 rights of the defendant.”
“<BR /> <BR />Officials are working with the Office of the Legislative Counsel (OLC) to support the drafting of the Bill, which I plan to introduce before the summer recess, subject, of course, to Executive and Assembly approval.”
“The Bill is focused on a small number of very significant measures that will have the most impact on victims and witnesses of crime in order to improve their experience of the criminal justice system. That is a priority for me and something that, I know, partner organisations are also keen to progress. <BR /> <BR />The provisions, which will make a real difference to victims, include a right of victims in serious sexual offence cases to make representations at specified pretrial application hearings, with the benefit of independent legal representation to do so, and improvements to the third-party material disclosure process. Victims of hate crime offences will automatically be eligible for special measures, and the accused will be prohibited from cross-examining them.”
“We will consider all the issues that have been raised, but we do have to look at how we are going to pay for firearms licensing, because subsidising it out of the public purse is not working for the police or the Department.”
“<BR /> <BR />I feel that the response is proportionate, given that there has not been an increase in firearms licensing fees for so long and given that it is a considerable expense to own a firearm, buy ammunition and have a cabinet in which the firearm can be safely and securely locked away. It is not a cheap endeavour for anybody involved, so paying for the certificate is only fair. It has to be said as well that the fee is paid once every five years. Yes, it is an increase, but if it is spread across five years, it amounts to £50 a year, which, I think, represents quite good value for money. <BR /> <BR />I therefore encourage the Member to respond to the consultation.”
“First and foremost, I would prefer that nobody had to carry a personal protection weapon, because we want to be in a very different situation. I put that on the record. <BR /> <BR />As to any exemptions and how those are handled, I again say that there is a consultation under way, and I encourage the Member to contribute to it. Members who contribute to the consultation should, however, perhaps also reflect on from where in the policing budget they want the £2 million to come instead. At the moment, that money comes directly from front-line policing in neighbourhoods, from antiterrorism policing and from other things. Neither the Department of Justice not the PSNI is getting the kind of resource that would allow us to continue to absorb those costs.”
“We are working towards that. <BR /> <BR />The consultation is open, however. We want to hear from people in rural communities and from those who participate in sports shooting. We want to hear their views, which we will consider when reaching a conclusion.”
“That would require primary legislation, and that is something that we may have to look at introducing in the future. Ultimately, if we were saying this in a context in which people, for the purposes of their job or sport, needed equipment, they would generally be expected to fund it themselves or seek a grant in order to do so. At the moment, the cost of firearms appeals comes out of the public purse. <BR /> <BR />A Northern Ireland Audit Office (NIAO) report on firearms licensing referred in particular to the Department of Finance's document 'Managing Public Money Northern Ireland', in which, as the NIAO report states:”
“The reason that I have consulted on firearms is that the PSNI raised the issue with me when it was looking at its budget. As I said, £2 million went on subsidising applications for firearms last year, yet the police were unable to sign off on pay for police officers because there was a deficit of around £5 million in the PSNI's budget. One can therefore see how that £2 million is pretty critical for front-line policing and for development. At the moment, fees do not cover administrative and operational costs. The fees were last increased in 2016, when the cost of a certificate for a period of five years rose from £50 to £98. The current proposals would see the cost of a firearm certificate increase to £250. <BR /> <BR />To be clear, we have not consulted on any charge being imposed for firearms appeals.”
“We have not consulted on charging for appeals, but they can cost anything from £2,000 to £4,000 for my officers to process, yet no cost is attached to them. No jeopardy is involved for people, which incentivises them to submit appeals. <BR /> <BR />I am therefore aware of the concerns that people have about the increase in cost, but I remind them that, when we spend money to subsidise firearms licence applications, we are taking that money away from front-line policing services.”
“There are two separate issues. The PSNI's firearms and explosives branch is the licensing authority in Northern Ireland, and it processes applications on behalf of the Chief Constable. The licensing service has to be appropriately funded for the PSNI to be able to safeguard the public. At the moment, it is not a full cost-recovery model, with the result that, last year, around £2 million was taken from wider PSNI resources to subsidise the firearms branch. That is not a sustainable position, given the limited revenue that the PSNI has with which to deliver front-line policing. Ultimately, having a firearm is a responsibility that comes with a cost. For example, appeals are completely unfunded.”
“For comparison: in January 2025, there were 71 live appeals; in July, there were 65; and currently, there are only 47.”
“Whilst we recently added an additional senior officer to progress appeals, it is challenging because the firearms team has other statutory responsibilities under the Firearms (Northern Ireland) Order 2004, including the firearms consultation process, engaging with stakeholders and the Justice Committee, and for the consultation responses that are being gathered. <BR /> <BR />The PSNI's firearms and explosives branch is also a small team. It has to supply the information required in an appeal to the Department, and both teams are subject to staff changes on occasion. Officials also have to respond to any queries or subject access requests made by appellants or their representatives for information in respect of appeals, and that takes them away from processing appeals. They try to do that in a timely manner.”
“The first issue is that the number of appeals that the Department receives annually does vary. It is between 40 and 70 in an average year, but we have seen over 100 in some years. In 2025, the number was particularly low. There were only 22 appeals, which may explain why the backlog started to clear, and 14 of those are being progressed. In 2026 so far, nine appeals have been decided and brought to conclusion by a senior officer, and the branch has received 11 appeals to date. <BR /> <BR />It is a small team in the branch that processes appeals.”
“As the Member will be aware, before taking a firearm appeal decision, it is necessary for the senior officer to consider whether the appellant is a fit person to be entrusted with a firearm, without danger to public safety or to the peace, and that they have good reason to possess each firearm or ammunition applied for. <BR /> <BR />To ensure that the senior officer can make a fully informed decision, appropriate checks and due diligence are conducted through the appeals process. Appeals may be held in abeyance of the appellant's request. The Department may seek supplementary information or the appellant may request further time to respond to correspondence from officials. Consideration to expedite an appeal can be give to appellants who demonstrate that their livelihood has been or may be affected by the loss of their firearms.”
“I thank the Member for giving way and for raising that issue. I am sure that he is aware of the report by Dr Aisling Swaine that looked at the intersection between paramilitary coercive control in our communities and domestic violence and abuse and at the significant overlap that exists, with community surveillance and pressure being applied to victims and witnesses not to come forward to make complaints. I am sure that he agrees that that is completely unacceptable.”
“In closing, I acknowledge the active and consistent interest of those who tabled the motion and those who spoke in the debate in tackling domestic abuse in all its forms. I thank all the Members who participated for raising the issues and for doing so in a sensitive way. I recognise that we are far from the destination at which we wish to be. I would prefer it if we were dealing not with the victims of domestic abuse, coercive control and sexual assault but with the underlying causes of that abuse so that we can protect people from harm. In the interim, however, my focus as Justice Minister is on ensuring that, where those harms occur, they are properly pursued through the courts and not exacerbated by them.”