Justice Minister David Ford pictured with Ann McGregor (NICC), Francis Martin (NICC) and Cecil Russell (HSBC)

The Northern Ireland Chamber of Commerce was delighted to welcome David Ford MLA, Minister for Justice, to an in camera dinner at the Europa Hotel on Wednesday 1 September 2010. 

At a time when the PSNI is dealing with potentially large budget cuts and a severe dissident threat, Northern Ireland’s first Justice Minister since 1972, provided members with an opening address focusing on justice in a devolved Northern Ireland. 

The Minister discussed key challenges for his department as he moved from table to table to network and engage with 40 Chamber members.  Issues discussed included the potential impact of budget cuts to the Department of Justice, steps to delivering a joined up justice system and funding improvements to Northern Ireland’s prisons.

Chamber Chief Executive Ann McGregor commented “We were delighted to welcome David Ford to our in camera series. The event provided our members with a valuable networking opportunity and the chance for some open and frank dialogue with the Minister in a private setting.  We would like to thank the Minister for his open style and clear feedback as well as his willingness to talk to everyone and address any issue.”

The Northern Ireland Chamber of Commerce would also like to thank HSBC Bank for their sponsoring and support of the event and look forward to working in partnership with them for in camera dinner’s on 22 September with Bruce Robinson, Head of NI Civil Service and on 13 October with Arlene Foster, Minister for Enterprise Trade & Investment.