The Northern Ireland Assembly concluded consideration of the Justice Bill on Tuesday, with a series of amendments seeking to raise the minimum age of criminal responsibility (MACR) defeated after petitions of concern required cross-community support for their passage. All four proposed amendments to raise the age of criminal responsibility above the current threshold of ten years were rejected, as unionist parties voted unanimously against each proposal. The most supported amendment, brought forward by Sinn Féin's Emma Sheerin, which would have set a presumption that no child under 12 could be guilty of an offence, secured 48 votes in favour but failed due to the cross-community mechanism, with all 34 unionist Members voting against.

The Speaker opened proceedings by announcing that ten Private Members' Bills had been approved for introduction before the Standing Order deadline, including Bills on housing, flags and emblems, conversion practices, age discrimination, tree protection, and Irish-medium education workforce planning. He noted that the Assembly would face a heavy legislative workload for the remainder of the mandate and urged proper scrutiny of the legislation in the system.

The petition of concern mechanism drew sharp criticism during the session. Alliance MLA Sasha Mulholland, in her Member's statement, said the triggering of petitions of concern on the MACR amendments was "a misuse of a mechanism that was designed to protect minority rights," adding that it was "blocking change designed to protect those who are most vulnerable." She also paid tribute to the coalition of over 70 organisations that had campaigned for youth justice reform. In response to a point of order from Sinead Sheerin, the Speaker confirmed that no Ad Hoc Committee referral was required under current Standing Orders, as no such Standing Orders had yet been made under the relevant section of the Northern Ireland Act 1998.

Beyond the MACR votes, the Assembly passed a number of other amendments to the Justice Bill without division. These included provisions establishing an accreditation system for restorative justice service providers, extending domestic abuse protections to cover threats and harm to animals, new rules on the seizure of motor vehicles used in a manner causing alarm or distress, and significant reforms to rehabilitation periods for criminal convictions. An amendment establishing a police barred list and advisory list for Northern Ireland was also agreed, along with provisions on the accommodation of prisoners, photographing suspects at police stations, and the repeal of outdated Vagrancy Act offences.

An amendment on the accommodation of women prisoners, brought by TUV MLA Timothy Gaston, which would have prevented a man from being accommodated in prison facilities where women are held and referenced the definition of "man" and "woman" under the Equality Act 2010, was defeated by 48 votes to 32, with nationalists, the Alliance Party and the Justice Minister voting against.

An amendment on legal aid remuneration, brought forward by Justice Minister Naomi Long, was passed after a brief procedural confusion when it emerged the amendment had not been formally moved before the vote was called. The Assembly also disagreed with clause 28 of the Bill following the Minister's opposition to it, and approved amendments on criminal record certificates and the rehabilitation of offenders framework.

Earlier in the day, during Members' statements, SDLP MLA Matthew O'Toole called for a review of Northern Ireland's defamation regime in the wake of revelations following the conviction of former DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson. O'Toole argued that the current libel laws had a chilling effect on democratic reporting and scrutiny, saying, "In this region, we have a particular problem. People have not properly confronted it, in part because some in the Chamber benefit from the protections that it offers." He confirmed he was writing to both the Finance and Justice Ministers on the matter. Sinn Féin MLA Sinead Ennis also called for Assembly Speaker Edwin Poots to stand aside pending full disclosure of what he and other DUP members knew about Donaldson's behaviour prior to his conviction.

Sinn Féin MLA Declan Kearney used his Member's statement to criticise the DUP for blocking the Executive's 'Good Jobs' Employment Rights Bill, saying, "Workers' rights delayed are workers' rights denied," and accusing the DUP of running down the clock on the mandate for political reasons. The DUP did not respond to the statement in the chamber. People Before Profit MLA Gerry Carroll called on the Health Minister to meet the demands of striking resident doctors, challenging the assertion that no money was available for pay improvements by pointing to agency and locum spend and funding for the private healthcare sector.

DUP MLA Stephen Brett welcomed what he described as a U-turn by Tourism Northern Ireland in promoting the Twelfth of July celebrations through official social media channels, having previously criticised the body for ignoring the event. Sinn Féin MLA Sorcha Mason highlighted the significant disparity in arts funding between Northern Ireland and the Republic, noting real-terms cuts of around 40% in the North compared to per capita funding in the South that was approximately four times higher. Upper Bann MLA John Stewart raised concerns about the impending transfer of enterprise support funding responsibility to the Executive from April 2027, warning that a 12-week window for meaningful engagement between the Department for the Economy, councils and Enterprise NI had not yet produced a meeting between the relevant parties.