A shake-up in Northern Ireland’s costly legal aid system could see cash channelled to “legal clinics” to help solve problems before they get to court, the NI Minister for Justice said today.
David Ford unveiled a wide-ranging blueprint for law and order reform in which he also repeated a call for measures to boost public confidence in the Public Prosecution Service (PPS).
Mr Ford took office as part of the devolution of policing and justice powers from Westminster to the Northern Ireland Assembly in April, and today said the legislature could now reshape the justice system to meet the needs of the public.
In a keynote speech at his Stormont offices, he said: “Today I want to outline to you the opportunity that I believe lies before us, a once in a generation opportunity, and what I plan to do to ensure we grasp it.”
Organisations such as Citizens Advice and the Law Centre could be funded from the public purse for legal services they provide to the public under his reform plans.
Addressing an invited audience in Castle Buildings, where the Belfast Agreement was negotiated in 1998, the minister set out his vision for the future.
He said: “If devolution of policing and justice means anything, it means that the minister is accountable to the Assembly and the public, closer to the ground and better able to respond to the community’s concerns.
“But as Justice Minister, I am determined that this level of scrutiny and accountability will not lead to a conservative, play safe ‘do the minimum necessary’ approach.
“We have problems in our justice system and in the wider community and for these problems we must, and will, find solutions.”
PA