The Northern Ireland Assembly on Tuesday began Consideration Stage of the Justice Bill, a complex and wide-ranging piece of legislation covering biometric data retention, bail arrangements for children, victim services, and policing reforms. Speaker Alex Maskey acknowledged the unusual scheduling of the debate across several days, noting that the approach reflected lessons learned from previous mandates where legislation was debated in unrealistic time frames. Nine groups of amendments were tabled for debate, with the first day's proceedings focused primarily on the framework for retaining DNA, fingerprints, and police photographs.

Minister of Justice Naomi Long moved the first group of amendments, which relate to biometric data retention and police photographs. She outlined a new framework establishing retention periods of 75, 50, and 25 years depending on the severity of the offence and the age of the offender, alongside a new independent Biometrics Commissioner to oversee decisions on continued data retention. Long explained that many of the ministerial amendments arose from stress-testing the original Bill with the PSNI, which identified a need for modifications to provide greater clarity and ensure the effective operation of the new framework. "The provisions of Part 1 of the Bill are extensive, complex and intricately interlinked," she told the Assembly.

Committee Chairperson Paul Frew provided an extensive overview of the Justice Committee's 18-month scrutiny process, during which the Committee held 51 meetings, heard from 26 organisations, received 36 written submissions, and commissioned 14 research papers. Frew acknowledged the Bill's complexity but was critical of the approach taken by the Department, saying: "This is a special day, because that half a Bill is meeting its partner: the other half of the Bill." He urged the Assembly to support the Committee's own amendments, including one requiring the Department to introduce regulations on the retention and use of custody photographs within five years of Royal Assent, and another requiring Part 1 of the Bill to be commenced within five years of Royal Assent.

Sinn Féin MLA Emma Sheerin tabled a series of amendments on behalf of her party, focused primarily on strengthening human rights protections within the biometric retention framework. She argued that the starting point must be the presumption of innocence and raised concerns about proportionality, particularly regarding the retention of data belonging to people who had been arrested or charged but not convicted. "Biometric data is highly personal. It belongs to people, not the state," Sheerin said, adding that the party questioned whether the proposed biometrics commissioner had sufficient independence to adjudicate on disputes. Long indicated she did not support those amendments, arguing that some proposed changes had not been sufficiently developed or tested, and that others would dismantle protections specifically designed for under-18s.

People Before Profit MLA Gerry Carroll tabled an amendment requiring written notification to individuals whenever their biometric retention period changes, including as a result of national security determinations. Long acknowledged that some elements of Carroll's amendment fell within the Assembly's legislative competence but argued they would be better addressed through updates to PACE code D rather than primary legislation. She noted that provisions relating to national security determinations were reserved matters falling outside the Assembly's competence.

SDLP MLA Patsy McGlone broadly welcomed the Bill's direction while stressing the importance of independent oversight, meaningful review mechanisms, and ensuring that children and young people are not simply treated as adults within the justice system. He noted that the Committee had heard from the Scottish Biometrics Commissioner, who observed that "nobody has the gold standard" on biometric retention and emphasised the importance of retention frameworks being built on principles of necessity, proportionality, transparency, and public confidence. McGlone said his party would "vote according to those principles on successive amendments."

During Question Time, Health Minister Mike Nesbitt faced questions on a range of pressing issues. On Altnagelvin Area Hospital's emergency department, he confirmed that the budget cost for an initial phase of a new facility stands at £73 million, but said his ability to commit funding depends on the Department's capital allocation from the Budget process. He noted that the existing department was built for 40,000 patients but currently sees 80,000 a year. "Staff make decisions that are not the best decisions that they have been trained to provide but the least worst ones, because that is the environment in which they operate," he said.

Nesbitt also faced questions on the Encompass digital health record system, now live across all five health and social care trusts, acknowledging that approximately 12,000 letters, some red-flagged, had failed to reach GPs due to system failures. "There were two fail-safes that failed, so by definition they are not fail-safes," he said, adding that no physical harm had been done as the referrals in question had been rejected by consultants. He said work was ongoing to investigate the matter and apologised for the failures.

On domiciliary care, Nesbitt reaffirmed his commitment to implementing the real living wage for home care workers but said he could not confirm a definitive timeline due to the absence of a confirmed budget settlement. He indicated that once introduced, the uplift would be backdated to 1 April 2026. He described the broader funding challenge starkly: "The Department currently sits without a budget but, based on the draft Budget, we have a shortfall of £760 million. That is unprecedented and unmanageable."

Earlier in the day, Members' Statements covered a range of topics. MLA Jim McHugh marked the International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers, condemning attacks on humanitarian workers in Gaza and Iran. Diana Middleton paid tribute to Reserve Constable Linda Baggley, murdered by the IRA 50 years ago at the age of 19, calling for truth and justice for victims of terrorism. John Blair marked World Peatlands Day, welcoming the publication of the peatlands strategy and recent restoration work at Divis Mountain. Colum McGrath criticised the Executive's failure to pass a Budget, warning that nurses continued to face uncertainty over pay awards as a result. Pat Gaston raised the issue of Craigavon House being left to deteriorate while public money was spent on maintaining buildings at the Maze site, which he described as an "IRA shrine." Órlaithí Flynn raised ongoing odour problems affecting communities in south Tyrone, calling for a more robust and independent environmental enforcement regime.