AQW 12581/22-27

Mr Nick Mathison
Alliance Party
Strangford

Tabled Date: 28/05/2024
Answered On Date: 12/06/2024
Priority Written: No

Question:
To ask the Minister of Justice (i) for his assessment of the current vagrancy laws; and (ii) whether he will repeal of any of these laws to deliver a holistic approach to addressing homelessness.

Answer:

My intention is to repeal the provisions of the Vagrancy Act 1824 and the Vagrancy (Ireland) Act 1847 as they apply to Northern Ireland in the current mandate.

Homelessness, which is often linked to underlying issues such as drug addiction, alcohol addiction and poor mental health, should never be criminalised. It is a wider societal, and cross cutting, issue which ultimately requires an Executive response.