To ask the Minister of Justice for his assessment of the impact that the proposed courthouses closures will have on the Programme for Government 2011-15 commitment to improve access to justice.

The proposals for the court estate have been drawn up to provide an accessible and flexible model for justice administration in the future.

I appreciate that local courthouses are important to some people, but access to justice is not just about the number and proximity of courthouses but about reforms and initiatives to ensure that those that need to use the justice system are supported and have access to appropriate services.

The intention of the proposals is not to reduce the current level of activity within the courts but to realign where that business is undertaken to make best use of the larger, more modern, court buildings which have the capacity and facilities to deal with the broad range of court business.

The proposals will preserve access to justice for the people of Northern Ireland within a smaller, more focused, court estate.