Stormont Justice Minister Naomi Long has warned that unless additional funding is provided, the draft budget for her department will force an unacceptable slowdown across the justice system.

Speaking after a budget had not been agreed at the Executive, the Minister said she would continue to engage with colleagues to reach agreement and would push for extra money.

A modest increase in the Department of Justice budget over the last three years has not addressed what she described as historic levels of under-funding.

This lack of investment has hindered reform and transformation, limiting the department’s ability to maximise efficiencies and deliver a sustainable system, she said.

The draft budget allocations do nothing to reduce that long-standing funding gap, the Minister stated, with consequences for policing, prisons, legal aid, courts and probation.

Her department has already exhausted all reasonable savings options. While demand on the justice system has risen sharply, its share of the overall budget has declined, forcing annual efficiencies that can no longer be sustained.

If the draft budget is implemented without additional funding to meet unavoidable pressures, the justice system will slow further and its ability to preserve life, protect the public and keep people safe will be compromised, the Minister warned.