Justice Minister David Ford, speaking in the Northern Ireland Assembly yesterday, criticised political agreements between Northern Ireland political parties for failing to provide “significant additional resources” for legacy inquests.

However, he said: “My objective is to deliver as much as I can for families. Consequently, I have agreed to the Northern Ireland Courts and Tribunals Service launching a recruitment scheme with a view to appointing investigative support for the Coroners Service.

“The scheme was launched yesterday, and I expect appointments to be made by spring of next year.”

Mr Ford said there had been a “promise from the Prime Minister of funding to deal with legacy matters” but that the new posts were so far being funded from the Department of Justice’s “current limited budget”.

He said he was “determined to put the maximum possible resources into the Coroners Service” despite the “further unfunded legacy pressure on my Department”.

He added: “There will need to be an arrangement to find that funding if we are to meet the needs of the victims of the past.”