Striking criminal barristers in Northern Ireland have been asked to “reflect” on the impact their action is having on the stretched prison service.
Justice Minister Naomi Long told MLAs that trial delays were increasing the remand population and potentially leading to some people being in prison who should not be.
Ms Long also said that the prison population had increased by almost 20% in the last three years.
Members of the Criminal Bar Association (CBA) have not been appearing in legally-aided crown court cases since January as part of an ongoing industrial dispute over fees.
In addition to the withdrawal of services, criminal barristers have refused to take new instructions in the most serious cases since the beginning of November 2024.
The CBA says that fees for legally-aided criminal work have not been increased since 2005, making them worth just 50% of their original value.
Ms Long has previously said she has committed to increasing their fee rates by 16%.
She was asked during ministerial question time at Stormont on Monday whether the industrial action was putting further pressure on the prison system.
Ms Long said: “I met with the Criminal Bar in the last week or so to work through some of the issues that they raised.
“It does of course, if there are delays to trial, increase the remand population.
“It does mean that there will be people who are in prison who potentially should not be in prison, and that there are people not in prison who potentially should be.
“I think that is something for the Criminal Bar to reflect on as they decide how to take their action forward.”
Ms Long told MLAs that the Northern Ireland Prison Service had faced budgetary pressures over a number of years.
She said: “On February 1 2022, the total prison population in Northern Ireland was 1,601.
“On February 2025, the population had increased by almost 20% to 1,913.
“Between February 2023 and February 1 2025 alone, there has been an increase of 170 prisoners.”
Ms Long said she had approved the recruitment of a further 75 prisoner officers.
She said the female prison population in the region had increased from 70 to 113 in three years.
Ms Long told MLAs that Maghaberry, Northern Ireland’s high-security prison, had seen its population increase by 25% since February 2022 to 1,270.
She said almost half of them, 632, were remand prisoners awaiting trial or sentencing.