The Department of Justice, under Alliance leader Naomi Long, has outlined its Criminal Justice (Sentencing etc) Bill. The legislation increases maximum penalties for assaults on emergency services members. It also raises sentences for causing death or serious injury by driving under the influence of drink or drugs.

The bill excludes provisions on terror offences. The department stated that terrorism matters remain reserved to the UK Parliament at Westminster.

DUP MLA Paul Frew, a member of the Stormont justice committee, called for clarification on the department's position. He noted that while terrorism legislation is set by Westminster, broader sentencing guidance in Northern Ireland is devolved. Frew said the public expects strong sentencing given the region's history and ongoing terror threat.

He plans to question the department on the legal basis for excluding terror offences and to check for any gaps leading to weaker sentences in Northern Ireland compared to other UK areas.

Past cases in Northern Ireland involved sentences of five years and three months for attempting to obtain gun parts in Lurgan. Another received 18 months for planting bombs at a GAA club in east Belfast. In 2020, seven men linked to a proscribed organisation got terms between three-and-a-half and five years for weapons training and terrorism preparation.

Additional examples include two men from Co Meath jailed for five years each in 2017 after planting a bomb at a Londonderry hotel hosting a PSNI event. A west Belfast man received four-and-a-half years in 2016 for possessing a sub-machine gun and bullets. That year, a north Belfast man got a suspended sentence for a failed bomb plot in Ardoyne.