Stephen Farry said: “Today marks the first anniversary of the devolution of justice to the Assembly and it is worth recognising all that David Ford has achieved as Minister over the past year.
“David, through strong negotiation, secured an extra £245m of funding to tackle terrorism over the next four years.
“He also successfully introduced arguably the most substantial and important piece of legislation this Assembly has ever seen in the Justice Bill. This Bill helps put greater emphasis on the needs of victims of crime and provides new alternatives to prosecution to enable us to deliver justice more effectively.
“He has also worked to deliver important reforms to legal aid to make the system more cost-effective whilst maintaining excellent access to justice for all.
“David also commissioned a review of prisons to help deliver further value for money and improve the prison system here. He also oversaw a programme of work through the Criminal Justice Board to tackle unnecessary and wasteful delays in the justice system.
“Within the past year he also introduced a consultation into sentencing guidelines to help ensure that the framework for sentencing is clearer, more transparent and more consistent. David has also started working on a strategy to reduce offending and has launched a consultation to secure safer, shared communities.
“All this perfectly illustrates what can be done with an Alliance Minister at the heart of government. On 5 May people have the chance to have a second Alliance Minister in government by voting for the party that is leading change.”
ENDS