On the 12th April 2024, the Independent Panel wrote to Martin Carey, Director of Truth Recovery Programme at The Executive Office, and Steven Allison, Director of Enabling Access to Justice at NI Department of Justice.
The purpose of the correspondence was to outline the Independent Panel’s recommendation that the relevant legislation be reviewed, and necessary amendments made to disapply the means test in applications for legal advice and assistance in applications for access to records.
The Independent Panel recognises that accessing records in Northern Ireland can be complex and the process can be challenging to navigate with records held in many different locations and by numerous organisations and agencies. We believe people would benefit from, in some cases, legal advice and assistance in relation to applications for access to records.