by Peter Moor and PA.
A temporary mortuary to cope with a worst case scenario of deaths from Covid-19 has now handed over from the contractors, Naomi Long, the Justice Minister has said.
Speaking at the Justice Committee at Stormont, she said that the the facility has been prepared at a Ministry of Defence property at Kinnegar, County Down
She said she had made a Military Aid from a Civil Authority (MACA) request to use a part of the base, and described how it has been transformed of "large empty industrial sheds" to "possibly the best morgue facility on these islands".
"Staff in my department, partners and contractors worked extremely hard to develop this site within a very short time frame and it has been handed over now from the contractors," she said.
"I sincerely hope, having visited the site, that we never need to use it."
She added: "It is our intention that we could keep the facility and that we would have it in the event that there were any future issues."
Naomi Long speaking at the committee
Ulster Unionist MLA Doug Beattie said "the point that needs to be made is that the military can be used in the most discrete manner, but have a really big impact".
Ms Long responded: "For some in our community the involvement of the military is still an issue of sensitivity ... to be fair, the military are also aware of that and therefore the site they have given us is self-contained, it's not branded, it's completely centrally managed.
"They were really conscious of their wish to ensure that anyone who would use that facility would feel comfortable and confident about using it."
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