Justice Committee chair Paul Frew says the the matter MLAs are debating now is "one of those issues that has a real burning in our community".

He asks Sinn Féin: "Why have you been quiet on this issue?"

Eamonn McCann of People Before Profit says it "cannot be right that citizens can be detained by the state" without being given a reason why.

The Foyle MLA says he is "struck by the fact" the no-one supporting the motion has acknowledged that there is a "grave difficulty" that it does not sit well with the idea of a fair justice system.

Lord Morrow of the DUP raises many questions about the case of Damien McLaughlin, and touches on some of the possible causes behind problems attached to bail.

"The first is a ridiculous length of time in getting to trial, often delayed in part by the utilising of preliminary investigations at the behest of the defence," he says.

DUP MLA and Justice Committee member Sammy Douglas says there have been several instances in recent times in which courts have dealt "leniently" with suspects of violent dissident republicanism in terms of their bail conditions, in spite of police objections.

He says the assembly should be "tough on crime and tough on the reasons behind crime".

There is a "sense out there" that courts and the prosecution service are too lenient, he says, and that is "undermining the justice system".

The East Belfast representative uses his final contribution in the assembly to announce his retirement from politics, and signs off by paying tribute to the assembly staff: "They don't get the recognition they deserve."

Broadly supporting the motion is Alliance Party MLA Trevor Lunn.

He says his party has difficulties with the section that "calls on the minister of justice to ensure that steps are taken to see that the suspect is returned to custody".

Mr Lunn says that "may be placing an onus on the minister that she may not be able to fulfill".

The Lagan Valley MLA says "there has to be a measure of discretion allowed to the judiciary".

The SDLP's Alex Attwood says the Police Service of Northern Ireland need to "tighten their processes" when it comes to police bail in appropriate cases.

Image source, Thinkstock

But he says that MLAs should not "invert the rule of law and bail procedure" in the way the motion suggests.

Sinn Féin's Declan Kearney says his party will oppose the UUP motion because it "pushes back" on the work of "democratic reform" of Northern Ireland's justice system.

He says no-one "should be deprived of their liberty in an arbitrary fashion" but a proposed "blanket ban throws up that connotation".

The motion "undermines the core assumptions underpinning bail law" and if its calls were to be implemented the effect would be to "hollow out the human rights framework of our justice system".

Keith Buchanan of the DUP says he knew David Black for many years in voluntary work circles.

Regarding cases of terrorism and murder, the Mid Ulster MLA says that "many believed bail should never have been an option for someone accused of such a serious offence".

Mr Buchanan says "the granting of bail simply would not be considered in equivalent cases within Great Britain".

Next up is an Ulster Unionist motion demanding for review of bail policy in terrorism and murder cases.

It comes in the wake of the emergence of a case of a missing suspect in the high-profile murder of prison officer David Black (below).

Image source, PSNI

Damien McLaughlin is soon due to stand trial in connection with the 2012 killing, but he has not been seen by police since November, and the Black family have said they feel betrayed by the criminal justice system.

The UUP's Doug Beattie says it was an "embarrassing failure for the PSNI" that it did not realise McLaughlin had absconded after his bail conditions were relaxed, and that has now put "society as risk".

The Upper Bann MLA adds that terrorism suspects should not get bail: "If you believe that is the case then you must support this motion."

Gordon Lyons of the DUP winds for the motion and he denies that it has been an attempt to "have a go at the Housing Executive or in some way to discredit" it.

Mr Lyons says no-one is under any illusion regarding the work that needs to be done, "the scale of that work and the cost of that work".

He adds that "this doesn't mean that we shouldn't press on this issue and seek to ensure that this is addressed".

The motion passes unopposed on an oral vote.

Responding to the debate, Communities Minister Paul Givan says addressing the issue of defective cavity wall insulation in social houses "may require substantial funding".

Added to that problem, he says, the Housing Executive has a "substantial maintenance and investment backlog".

But it is "committed to addressing both the energy efficiency of its properties and fuel poverty affecting its tenants" and will carry out a survey of wall insulation, he adds.

Mr Givan acknowledges that there are houses that are in "deplorable" condition and therefore it is "vital" that MLAs provide "the best possible standards that the people expect us as politicians to provide".

The DUP's Mervyn Storey, who held the housing brief when he was social development minister, adds: "If there is one thing we need in Norther Ireland it is to give people good quality homes."

Alliance Party MLA Kellie Armstrong says it is already clear that Housing Executive homes "are in such poor repair that we are letting down our community".

She outlines the inefficiency of some forms of cavity wall insulation that results in polystyrene beads being blown around the house, and she describes "children living in bedrooms that you wouldn't put animals in".

Image source, Thinkstock

Gerry Carroll of People Before Profit says "people have to pay a fortune in gas and electricity bills just to heat their homes".

He says the Housing Executive "should be allowed to borrow money" to bring their homes up to standard.

Housing is a sector that "moves from one crisis to another" in Northern Ireland, Alliance Party MLA Stewart Dickson says.

The East Antrim representative tells the assembly that the issue of poor quality insulation has been "well known" to previous DUP ministers who have held the housing brief.

"I wish the DUP were as consistent in their approach to heating homes as they are to heating sheds," he says, taking a pop at the party for its links to the RHI green energy scandal.

Image source, PA

Ulster Unionist Roy Beggs says Housing executive officers and landlords "frequently blame" tenants for their lifestyle causing damp in their social houses, when the reason behind this may actually be inadequate insulation.

He calls on the Department for Communities to release funds to deal with the problem.

The UUP's Andy Allen quotes from the Department for Communities' minimum standards for housing.

It demands that "a house should be free from dampness prejudicial to the health of the occupants" and says there should be "a reasonable degree of thermal comfort" within a home.

Nichola Mallon of the SDLP says she believes people have the right to food, healthcare, education, work and to a home.

"Access to a secure, affordable and good quality home is the anchor, it is the glue which holds other aspects of an individual's and a family's life together," she says.

Sinn Féin's Fra McCann says cavity insulation is "crucial to maintaining the fabric of any home" and the wellbeing of those who live there".

He takes a pop at the SDLP, saying that the when the party held the ministry covering housing, it made an "ill-thought-out decision" to remove grant options for people to upgrade parts of their home that now sees those properties "continue to deteriorate and will quite likely be the slums of the future".

Turning to the Divis Tower block in his constituency, the West Belfast MLA  says the decision taken by the Housing Executive not to invest in the flats has "condemned tenants to living in a never-ending nightmare".

Replacing the windows and the insulation would "transform the lives" of those residents he says.

First bit of private members' business today is on cavity wall insulation in social housing, and is brought to the floor by DUP MLAs Alex Easton and Gordon Lyons.

Image source, PA

The motion calls on the Communities Minister Paul Givan to "hold the Northern Ireland Housing Executive to account for its failure to address the lack of, or poor quality of, cavity insulation within many" of its properties.

It also demands that the Housing Executive "formulates a plan of action to ensure that all its properties have adequate and proper cavity insulation".

TUV leader Jim Allister raises a point of order concerning a DUP MLA and a possible conflict of interest over the controversial Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) scheme.

"What are the ramifications of Ms Carla Lockhart as a member of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) failing to declare a family link to the RHI scheme when that same committee was investigating the RHI scheme?" he asks.

Image source, Press Eye

Speaker Robin Newton says it is not his role to comment on the matter, but that members should declare their interests on the register.

Ulster Unionist Robin Swann, who chairs the PAC, says there will be a meeting of the committee tomorrow afternoon when there will be an opportunity to clarify the matter.

Speaker Robin Newton opens business by thanking the staff at the Northern Ireland Assembly, acknowledging that difficult political circumstances can put extra strain on employees.

He also thanks members who are not standing in the forthcoming election for their public service.

"While it brings privileges, this house also involves sacrifices," he says.

Here's the full order of business, external for the final plenary day of this assembly...

After a desperately long day yesterday, we're back up on Stormont hill this morning for the final plenary day of this assembly mandate.

Image source, PA

Lots to get through today again, but we'll be here right through until the end.