Paisley and McGuinness fail victims again - Long

11.16.00am BST (GMT +0100) Tue 8th Apr 2008

Alliance Deputy Leader Naomi Long MLA

Following the Executive pulling the Victims Commissioner Bill from the Assembly today, Alliance Deputy Leader Naomi Long has accused the Executive of again delaying the Victims Commissioner appointment process. She also said that its time for the Executive to get their act together and start delivering for victims.

Naomi Long MLA said: "This morning shows the complete disregard that OFMDFM has, not just for the Assembly, but more importantly for victims and survivors of violence.

"Having pressed for the abandonment of a committee stage during which the views of victims and survivors could have been heard, and having argued that the matter was too urgent to allow proper consultation, they arrived this morning and refused to move the next stage of the bill.

"Yet again it is OFMDFM injecting delay into this process, and yet again there is no reasonable explanation as to why this happened. If the Assembly is going to deliver for victims then OFMDFM needs to get its act together."

ENDS