Former Justice Minister Claire Sugden has said ongoing delays to the redevelopment of Magilligan prison are placing a “serious and avoidable strain” on the justice system.

Plans for a new accommodation block at the prison in County Londonderry were announced in 2016, but nine years on it has still not been built.

The independent MLA has urged the Department of Justice (DoJ) to deliver the project without further delay, as the prison population reaches new highs.

The department said the prison service had developed a “masterplan” for Magilligan, which included extra cells and new kitchen and catering facilities, but it relied on funding.

The prison is currently at its capacity of 500 prisoners, with nearly 100 of these sharing cells or “doubling up”, and the prison population across Northern Ireland is at its highest since 1980.

In the last four years alone, the prison population has risen by 50 per cent, according to the DoJ.

This is primarily driven by remanding people into custody before conviction or sentencing.

Northern Ireland’s prisoner population currently stands at 2,139, which is up by more than 200 on a year ago.

Its largest prison, Maghaberry, has 1,470 inmates, 737 (50%) of whom are being held on remand.

Sugden told BBC Radio Foyle’s North West Today programme it was “long past the time” that the new accommodation block needed to be built at Magilligan.

“The old buildings that we’re used to are not safe,” she added.

Sugden said the longer the delay continues, the more expensive it will be to deliver the project, as costs of materials continue to rise.

“We have to do this, it’s not a question of ‘let’s shelve this and it shouldn’t happen’.

“It doesn’t sound like they’re progressing it in the way that I believe they should be for the long-term future of the prison estate and, indeed, our justice system.”

The Department of Justice said all parts of the prison estate were under “considerable pressure” but high numbers of cell-sharing had not been a feature of Magilligan Prison in the recent past.

A spokesperson said the Magilligan “masterplan”, including the additional accommodation, was subject to business approval and funding.

It did not give a timeframe for work on the project to begin or be completed.

“The Prison Service is also looking at shorter-term accommodation options to alleviate the pressures caused by a 50% rise in the prison population in Northern Ireland since 2021,” the DoJ said.

“Again these will be subject to the planning process and necessary funding being available.”