Sinn Féin’s John O’Dowd asks a supplementary question.

He asks the minister if she will “speak to the chancellor about extending the furlough and help save these 500 jobs”.

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Diane Dodds replies that she “understand the urgency and the passion” of the member and reassures him that she has raised the issue of the furlough scheme during meetings with the chancellor.

She says she hopes there will be a positive response but does acknowledge the difficulties.

The minister says she spoke to the company this morning and adds that Invest NI are “engaging” with them as well.

She says there is a desire to “try to win as many jobs back for this industry as we possible can”.

Mrs Dodds says it's "an important question at a difficult time".

She says she was in touch with the company today and she understands talks with unions are continuing this afternoon.

Mrs Dodds says airlines have been cancelling orders and aeroplane manufacturers Airbus and Boeing have decreased their output by 40% during the Covid crisis.

These global conditions have resulted in Thompson Aero Seating "having to reduce headcount", the minister adds.

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"These job losses are deeply regrettable," says the minister, adding that Invest NI will hold redundancy clinics in conjunction with the company.

She says Invest NI is working with the company on longer term projects.

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The deputy speaker thanks the justice minister before making members aware there is another urgent oral question, this time for the minister for the economy, Diane Dodds

Sinn Féin MLA John O’Dowd's query is:

“To ask the minister what action her department plans to make to help avoid the loss of 500 jobs at Thompson Aero Seating in Banbridge and Portadown”.

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People Before Profit’s Gerry Carroll outlines some specific instances in which he says protesters were fined by police, and asks if the minister can stand over her comments that the police enforcement measures during the protests in Belfast were proportionate.

Naomi Long says she did not say “individual decisions were proportionate, nor would it be right for me to do so”.

She says any concerns should be raised through the police ombudsman about how police handled events.

She says it is not right that she is held accountable for operational matters as, she says, there is a “clear divide” between her role and how policing is enforced.

Green Party MLA Rachel Woods ask the minister if she believes “we must respond to the calls by campaigners to address systematic racism in our society”.

Mrs Long says she "fully understands the strength of feeling" in relation to George Floyd's death.

She says she believes that people have the right to protest, and to do so peacefully, but that in the current circumstances she doesn't believe it to be "appropriate for large numbers of people to gather".

The minister says she believes there are other ways in which people can "raise voices" with the BAME community and put a "shoulder to the wheel and make a real difference".

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Jim Allister of the TUV says “on the issue of proportionality, given that a headline demand” of the Black Lives Matter movement is “the defunding of police”, he wants to know if it "was proportionate for the minister to re-profile her twitter page".

Mrs Long says "Black Lives Matter is not just a movement, it is a slogan" and a "phrase which typifies the emotions that all of us feel".

"To be clear," she says, "all lives will not matter until black lives matter".

"While any of us are not equal, none of us are equal.

"It should not be an affront to anyone in this chamber for the justice minister to say so."

The SDLP's Mark Durkan (below) asks the minister if she agrees that there appears to be "disproportionality and inconsistency in an approach that saw the issuing of 11 fines and community resolution notices in Belfast and 57 in Foyle" where he says most people adhered to social distancing.

Most of the issues raised by Mr Durkan are "not matters on which I am willing to comment," the minister says.

She says she cannot judge the police operations in Belfast or Derry - "I was present at neither" adding that it would be "inappropriate" for her to comment.

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The DUP's Gordon Dunne asks the minister if she recognises the effect on people who have been denied the right to assemble at church and at funerals.

He wants an assurance that the law will be applied equally to all people in Northern Ireland.

The minister says that "not to be able to hold a funeral is a massive sacrifice".

"There has been criticism on both sides of this argument, some who feel the police have not policed harshly enough, others who feel that the police have policed too harshly, perhaps somewhere in the middle lies the truth," Mrs Long says.

Dolores Kelly of the SDLP asks if the minster agrees that the police are “between a rock and a hard place”.

She asks the minister if she can provide any update around the issue of designation of “other officers” as she says, "police cannot police and do other work".

Mrs Long says she has raised the issue of "further designation of other bodies" adding there should be encouragement for "those with the right expertise to be party to enforcement" and to encourage others to adhere to the regulations.

She tells the member there should not be a loss of "sight of the reason for these regulations".

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The DUP's Paul Frew (above) says it is difficult for the police to "police every single twist and turn of a person's life". He wants to know if the minister is against any lifting of the regulations.

Mrs Long says "if that was what I wanted to say" she would have said it.

She says it is "unreasonable" to think the police would oversee "all of their daily activities" but adds that the regulations "rely largely on people's sense of responsibility".

John Blair of Alliance asks the mister if she agrees that the scrutiny and accountability for this matter lies with the Policing Board "where members questioning are well represented".

The minister says her party colleague "is of course, correct"

"That is the right forum," she adds.

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Jonathan Buckley of the DUP (above) raises the question of "despicable attacks on war memorials and other memorials across the United Kingdom" asking for an assurance "that this sort of activity will not be tolerated in Northern Ireland".

The minister says she has no reservations "in condemning any form of violence or lawbreaking in our society".

John O’Dowd from Sinn Féin asks if the minister agrees with him that “the key to this is" that the "police have to approach this with a common approach".

"They have to be fair, transparent in what they are doing," he says, adding "it’s not about who gathered, it’s about the law being enforced impartially".

The minister replies that it is important that the police "are impartial and seen to be impartial in their enforcement of the law".

She then outlines the approach the police said they would take with the regulations, including engaging, educating, explaining and enforcement - with the latter "the final stage".

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Matthew O'Toole of the SDLP asks the minister to "shed some light" on an issue which some groups have been concerned about in relation to a "late change on Friday evening" to the regulations, prior to the protests.

Mrs Long says the Covid regulation changes were announced "ten to 15 days prior to the changes being laid on Friday evening".

She says "no one was disadvantaged in the fact the regulation were laid" on Friday.

Paul Givan, who issued the urgent question, has an opportunity to ask a supplementary.

The DUP MLA says that "Assistant Chief Constable (ACC) Alan Todd has said Regulation 5 is no longer a matter being policed as there are so many exceptions to the rule, they are not enforcing this unless there is a blatant disregard".

"Then a mass gathering was facilitated by the police service on 3 June with follow up comments that it was proportionate.

"Any wonder there was then further protests on the Saturday in Londonderry and Belfast," says Mr Givan.

He asks the minister, "given Regulation 5 and 6 have now been undermined, their credibility and integrity have been undermined as a result of policing of these protests that have taken place and their inaction, what confidence can the minister have that these regulations we are now asking the police to enforce is putting public confidence in them in a way that undermines their position".

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The minister says she does "not accept" the member's "analysis of the policing of the situation".

She says that issues about operational policing are not for the justice minister to answer.

"I am not the policing minister, I am the justice minister," says Mrs Long.

"I would gently remind the member however that many of the exceptions to which ACC Todd refers are those which were requested and preemptively announced by his own colleague in Lagan Valley," says Mrs Long, referring to Agriculture Minister Edwin Poots.

The minister says that she would not normally answer questions on police operational matters in the chamber and she only received the question at 12:20 today.

"I am here as a courtesy to the chair of the committee" and to the assembly, she explains.

Mrs Long says no precedent should be taken from the fact she's answering this question.

Regulation 6 of the Covid regulations places restrictions on public gatherings and provides the police with powers to take enforcement action, she explains.

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"Decisions on what actions should be taken are a matter for the police based on their operational assessment," the minister adds.

She says anyone with complaints or concerns about police decisions can have them addressed by contacting the police ombudsman.

The minister says that "as we give people more freedom we will also be delegating to people more".

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The sitting is reopened by the Deputy Speaker Roy Beggs.

Before returning to the debate before lunch about Covid-19 support for sheep and beef farmers, he makes members aware that DUP MLA Paul Givan has issued an urgent question to the minister for justice.

The clerk reads the question to the chamber: “To ask the minister for justice for her assessment of police enforcement powers related to Covid-19 regulations following the breach of regulation 6 in respect of a mass gathering that took place outside Belfast City Hall on 3 June 2020”.

The minister, Naomi Long, is then invited to respond.

The assembly's adjourning until 14:00 now in order to allow the Business Committee to meet and decide what will be on the agenda for next week.

We're taking the opportunity to grab a bite of lunch.

Join us again at 14:00 as the agriculture debate resumes.

The assembly takes a short break before moving to the next item of business.

It's a motion by Sinn Féin MLAs on Support for Sheep and Beef Farmers through the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Declan McAleer opens the debate.

He says the pandemic has shown the importance of the sector, but that it has been “negatively impacted” by the crisis.

The Sinn Féin MLA says since lockdown, “the impact on markets and farm has been profound” and that “financial pressures are increasing rapidly”.

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He says the industry has called for financial help, and outlines some of the government support mechanisms that have been made available.

Turning to trading figures, Mr McAleer says the closure of marts during the pandemic has had a “huge impact” on the beef and sheep sector.

“Before Covid, farm incomes had dropped significantly” he says and says the lockdown and closure of restaurants has increased the issue.

Mr McAleer says this motion is about highlighting the beef and sheep sector, but not about undermining others.

Paul Givan, the chairperson of the Justice Committee, outlines the committee’s consideration of the LCM.

He says the committee was content with the LCM but wanted more information on practice and enforcement matters.

The SDLP’s Pat Catney says he and his party will be supporting the LCM.

Alliance’s John Blair also welcomes the bill.

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Mrs Long wraps up the debate.

She says it’s a “good opportunity for people who are genuinely interested in sport”.

The minister says it’s a thrill for people to see events happen live, but tickets are expensive and so should be “affordable”.

The assembly moves to an oral vote and the LCM passes unanimously.

The Justice Minister than introduces the debate on a legislative consent motion (LCM) on the Birmingham Commonwealth Games Bill.

A LCM allows Westminster to legislate for Northern Ireland in matters that are normally devolved to Stormont.

Mrs Long explains that the Westminster Birmingham Commonwealth Games Bill is to provide for a number of measures facilitating the holding of the games in Birmingham in 2022.

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The parts of the bill extending to Northern Ireland include the creation of a new offence, which prohibits the unauthorised sale or resale of games tickets.

A person found guilty on summary conviction could face a fine of £50,000.

Mrs Long says fines don't normally exceed £5,000 in the magistrates court but in this case it has been set high to act as a deterrent.

She says that given the tight timescales of the bill it would not have been practically possible to legislate locally on the bill.

Minister Naomi Long wraps on the motion.

She answers some queries by members about how the department will share information about the changes to victims.

Mrs Long says the department doesn't hold records of all claims previous denied under the same household rule, but is working with victims groups to share information about the changes.

Turning to the time limit, she says it’s two years, but can be waived if the department feels it needs to be extended, such as someone with a viable case coming forward at a later stage.

The motion passes unanimously on oral vote.

The DUP's Paul Givan chairs the Justice Committee.

He outlines the evidence provided to its members.

The committee subsequently recommended that the assembly approve the scheme.

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Linda Dillon is the deputy chair of the committee. The Sinn Féin MLA says it’s a “very positive move”.

The SDLP’s Matthew O’Toole says the “equalisation in the rules is completely right” and an “example of what we can do in fast time”.

Doug Beattie of the UUP says the motion is “incredibly important”. He says “mental, physical and sexual abuse by someone in the household is an insidious crime”.

Mr Beattie adds that payment for those who were previously excluded from the scheme, is about “recognition” of what “they went through”.

Kellie Armstrong of Alliance also welcomes the amendment.

Next up the Justice Minister, Naomi Long introduces a motion to approve the draft Northern Ireland Criminal Injuries Compensation (Amendment 2020) Scheme (2009).

She explains that the purpose of the amendment "is to enable victims of a crime of violence living as members of the same household between 1 March 1969 and 30 June 1988 to apply for criminal injuries compensation".

The minister says that during this period, the scheme excluded claims for injuries inflicted on victims who were living as members of the same household as their assailant.

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This was changed from 1988.

In 2018 the Court of Appeal in Northern Ireland overturned the same household rule on the basis that it was incompatible with human rights.

A similar scheme in England has been changed as the result of a High Court ruling.

Mrs Long says that it's been estimated that 800 applications may be eligible in Northern Ireland at a cost to the Justice Department of £9.7m to £18.5m over 10 years.

The Principal Deputy Speaker Christopher Stalford invites members to ask a second round of questions to the minister if they wish.

Colin McGrath of the SDLP wants to know that ambulance services won't be forgotten during the rebuilding plan and says there are indications more people are starting to use A and E services again as lockdown is easing.

Mr Swann says that when he refers to six trusts that includes the ambulance services. He says they're a regional trust which does work across other departments as well.

He says the pressure the service has been under as use has increased, "is something we're conscious of".

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Paul Givan of the DUP asks the minister if he will consider reducing social distancing from 2m to 1m.

The minister says the scientific advisory group that feeds into the Department for Health and the executive is still of the "position that 2m is the right measurement".

He says reducing the space, would also mean reducing the amount of time people could spend together.

The Deputy Principal Speaker then thanks the minister for his statement.