Justice Minister Naomi Long has hit out at what she termed a "ludicrous culture war" as she faced questions on the Northern Ireland Prison Service's policies when it comes to housing transgender prisoners.
The Minister faced questions in the chamber from DUP MLA Joanne Bunting and the TUV's Timothy Gaston who both asked her to confirm what action she was taking to ensure that the women's prison at Hydebank Wood does not accept "biological male" inmates.
Addressing the issue, Minister Long said that she believed that the questions were based on "rumourous reporting of a recent court case" and sought to provide clarity on that situation.
"An application for leave to issue a writ of habeas corpus was lodged alleging that an applicant's detention at the instruction of the court in a male prison was unlawful," she told the chamber.
"The application was dismissed by the court with no order as to costs.The judge made no order either in respect of prison service policy or transfer to Hydebank Wood Secure College.
"During the hearing, the judge was advised of the process that was ongoing to confirm the most suitable location for the applicant and was satisfied this process should be allowed to conclude."
Naomi Long outlined that as per the wishes of previous Justice Ministers, the Northern Ireland Prison Service had a long-standing, unwritten position of dealing with transgender prisoners on a case-by-case basis.
"Following the deaths of two transgender prisoners in English prisons and issues in Scottish prisons, a decision was taken to put in place a formal process.An instruction to governors with guidance on the current management of transgender prisoners was subsequently issued in August 2022.
"This followed a review of the current arrangements and was developed after consultation with the Equality Commission and the South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust.
"When an individual is committed to custody by the courts, who identifies as transgender, the prison service will consider their specific needs and risks on a case by case basis, and take a person-centred and risk-based approach on decisions around accommodation and care informed by advice from colleagues in the South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust, which is responsible for the delivery of healthcare services to people in prison."
Naomi Long said that it would be "dangerous" to give a commitment that a prisoner will never be housed in a prison of the opposite sex, as there may be "unique risks and issues" which lead to such a situation.
The Minister also hit out at the DUP's Joanne Bunting, who suggested that transgender prisoners were adopting a "predators charter", which Naomi Long described as "scurrilous."
"Many of those who are trans in our system are some of the most vulnerable people in the prison system and far from being predators are predated upon," the Justice Minister said.
"I think it's also important to say that what I champion as Minister of Justice is justice, fairness, equality and dignity.
"And when it comes to prisons, I champion the safety of every single prisoner. whether that person identifies as female, whether they were natant female, whether they were born as a man, whether they identify as a man, it is their safety, and not any ideology, whether that be trans ideology or anti-trans ideology that will drive the protective work we do within the prison system."
Following a question from her party colleague Sain Mulholland, who asked the Minister about the importance of taking an " evidence-led and risk-based approach" to the issue, Naomi Long added: "Instead of trying to divide people. Instead of trying to other people and further diminish and marginalise people, it is our job in prison service to treat every person who arrives in our care with dignity, with respect, and to ensure their and every other prisoner's safety.
"Managing risk is what prison service does, and I commend our prison officers for the excellent work that they have undertaken in this regard, not just when it's now in the headlines, but long before it appeared in the headlines it became part of this ludicrous culture war that some people are indulging in today.
"We ensure that every prisoner, irrespective of how they identify, irrespective of their gender identity, their sexual orientation, their race, their religion, their colour, their creed, that they are treated with dignity.That any risk that they pose to the remainder of the prison population is properly handled based on a proper risk assessment and an evidence base.That is how this should be done.
"It is how it is done for every single prisoner, because let's be clear, prisons are, by their very nature places where dangerous people are held.
"If we did not do those risk assessments based on the needs and the individual risks posed by prisoners, we would have far more serious incidents within our prisons than we do at the moment, and it's therefore important that we hold that objective, that we look at each prisoner individually and ensure that they do are not posed a risk to by other prisoners, but crucially, they are not a risk to other prisoners in how they are housed."
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