Dillon welcomes 'long overdue' introduction of revised Justice Bill
and live on Freeview channel 276
The party’s Justice Spokesperson and Mid Ulster representative, said: “The introduction of the Justice Bill has been long overdue and I welcome its introduction to the Assembly.
"It is hugely disappointing, however, that important provisions of the Bill have had to be removed to secure its recent approval at the Executive.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide Ad“Four of the five Executive parties supported this Bill when the Justice Minister first tried to introduce it over two months ago.
“The DUP, despite being on record saying their party had no issue with the content of the Bill as drafted, disgracefully blocked the Bill from progression for fear of potential amendments at later stages.
“This was a shameful derogation of legislative responsibilities and showed contempt for the democratic process.
“Nonetheless the Bill as it stands contains hugely important provisions which will implement key recommendations from the Gillen Review of serious sexual offence cases and the review of the law on child sexual exploitation and sexual offences against children.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide Ad“It will also introduce new offences of up-skirting and down-blousing and improve services for victims of trafficking and exploitation.
“I am very pleased to see progression on these important issues and I look forward to working with colleagues in the Assembly and in the Justice Committee to ensure these important protections for victims can be in place before the end of the mandate.”
--
Thank you for reading this article. We're more reliant on your support than ever as the shift in consumer habits brought about by Coronavirus impacts our advertisers.
Please consider purchasing a copy of the paper. You can also support trusted, fact-checked journalism by taking out a digital subscription of the News Letter.