Michelle O’Neill is ignoring rule of law by delaying victim payments – judge

Mr Justice McAlinden said Michelle O’Neill’s stance in not nominating a Stormont department to administer the scheme – a requirement set out in legislation passed at Westminster – was “fundamentally inappropriate”.

“I see it as one element within Executive Office deliberately choosing to ignore the requirement to comply with the rule of law to express a political advantage,” he told Belfast High Court.

“That is a fundamentally inappropriate stance to take and it is a stance that this court will have no hesitation in describing in the bluntest terms and in requiring a remedy to be provided in the shortest timeframe.”

The judge expressed his view at the outset of a legal challenge taken by a woman who lost both legs in a Troubles bombing.

He said having read the arguments put forward by Jennifer McNern’s legal team and the Executive Office, Justice McAlinden said his “initial view” of the issue was unlikely to change as a result of hearing the case in full.

He adjourned the judicial review hearing for a short period on Monday morning and asked the legal parties to discuss whether they wished to proceed.

Justice McAlinden said he would hear the case in full, if the legal parties adopted “entrenched positions” and wished to proceed.

“What I see here is there has been significant and unjustifiable delay, that delay cannot be allowed to continue and this scheme, which is a scheme enacted by the Westminster parliament by primary legislation, followed up by regulations, this scheme is overdue and it needs to be brought forward and brought into operation as soon as possible for the benefit of those individuals, like Ms McNern and many others, who quite clearly have suffered for long enough without their suffering being appropriately recognised by our society.

“That is the initial view I take upon this case having carefully considered the papers.”

Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis is a secondary respondent to the case taken by Ms McNern.

However, the judge said he believed Mr Lewis had done all he could have been expected to do in relation to the scheme.