Sinn Féin is pressing for a Northern Ireland rather than a Westminster Minister for Justice and Policing.
The party says a Northern Ireland minister was part of the deal around power-sharing with the DUP.
This morning First Minister Peter Robinson told a group of international lawyers he supports the principle, but with strings attached.
Mr Robinson's problem is that many unionists would not support a Sinn Féin justice minister.
Even though Sinn Féin is urging support for the police, events like the Robert McCartney murder case make the DUP sceptical.
Mr Robinson seems to be signalling that the DUP might back an SDLP or Alliance party justice minister, maybe within the next 12 months.
