Debate contribution: Water Infrastructure
Debate contribution by Mr John O'Dowd on .
- MLA
- Mr John O'Dowd
- Party at the time
- Sinn Féin
- Date
- 5 March 2024
- Type
- Debate contribution
- Business
- Oral Answers to Questions
- Heading
- Water Infrastructure
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 4252610
Read the official Assembly record
Text
On your second point, I await an evidence base to support that claim. NI Water gave evidence to the Infrastructure Committee, at which it said that it would take responsibility for 20% of the effluent. However, my colleague the AERA Minister is taking forward a programme of work on that, so we want to make sure that we are working on an evidence base in relation to what is happening in Lough Neagh. Certainly, I would like to be able to invest more in NI Water, but I am competing with other priorities in my Department and with other priorities in the Executive, so we will face difficult budgetary decisions as we move forward. However, I will do everything in my power to ensure that NI Water is supported as best as it can be. On developments, we have to broaden the conversation around how we deliver waste-water treatment works for certain developments. I do not like the term "economically constrained". It almost sends out a negative right away that leads developers to say, "I can't develop there". The reality is that NI Water — it is very clear on this — is asking developers to engage with it at an early stage to see what can be done both by NI Water and the developer.
216 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
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