Stephen Farry stated: “The £29m in additional resources for policing in Northern Ireland announced as part of the UK Budget are welcome, but they must be regarded as a short-term response to the current dissident Republican threat rather than the financial settlement for the devolution of policing and justice.
“The dissidents pose particular challenges for policing in Northern Ireland. In no other part of the United Kingdom are police officers under threat purely on the basis of being public servants working on behalf of the whole community. The government had a clear responsibility to ensure that the police have the resources to protect themselves and the wider community in these circumstances.
“This short-term funding, which does not address baselines, does not deal with the wider issue of the financial package for the devolution of policing and justice. There are a range of immediate pressures facing the police service and other aspects of the criminal justice system. On top of this is the uncertainty of how to deal with, and finance, addressing the legacy of the past.
“In the long-run, there are considerable efficiencies to be found here from better joined-up government in criminal justice and from doing things more effectively, but the new start under the devolution of policing and justice cannot be undermined by the current problems embedded into the system.”
ENDS