Debate contribution: NI Water Challenges

Debate contribution by Mr Patsy McGlone on 8 April 2024.

MLA

Mr Patsy McGlone

Party at the time

Social Democratic and Labour Party

Date

8 April 2024

Type

Debate contribution

Business

Private Members' Business

Heading

NI Water Challenges

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 4481650

Read the official Assembly record

Text

We in the SDLP welcome the motion. We believe that it offers the opportunity to explore the options without a commitment to restructure NI Water at this time. However, we need to be convinced that any restructuring will not result in water charges. As Mr Boylan said, such charges are entirely unacceptable, as, indeed, is the kind of profiteering and chaos that has been allowed to develop in England. The amendment calls on the DUP and Sinn Féin to do what they have been unable or unwilling to do until now and agree to deliver the required investment in water and sewerage capacity. The Executive parties could and should increase investment in our water and sewerage infrastructure. The question is this: why do they not? The motion calls for an exploration of other ways to achieve that. Clearly, there needs to be increased investment, as the infrastructure is not fit for purpose. The impact on our environment of the overflow of combined waste water and sewerage systems has been highlighted many times in the Chamber. The cross-departmental working group on Lough Neagh has recommended a cash injection of £131 million to NI Water for the upgrading of 18 waste water treatment works that have an impact on Lough Neagh. The recent report by the NI Comptroller and Auditor General on water quality in our rivers and lakes warns of the impact being felt now from the lack of investment in NI Water infrastructure over a prolonged period. Economic development is being restricted because of the limited capacity of the infrastructure network. In many areas, new businesses cannot be established, and existing businesses cannot expand, because the water, waste water and sewerage infrastructure does not have the capacity for them to do so. Indeed, the lack of capacity is moving us to the stage where local development plans are becoming hypotheses: notional ideas about the development of areas without realisation. NI Water has stated that the construction of 19,000 homes across Northern Ireland is at risk due to the lack of appropriate water and sewerage infrastructure. NI Water knows what needs to be done to address the long-standing issues with the water infrastructure. It has completed the preparatory work, including designs and studies, but needs the funding. The current price control 21 agreement aimed to invest £2·1 billion in water infrastructure between 2021 and 2027, but it is increasingly clear that securing that funding is unachievable under the current funding model. When I raised the issue of underinvestment in sewerage and water with the Minister in the Assembly on 5 March, the Minister first questioned the evidence for the impact of that underinvestment on the ecological crisis in Lough Neagh. He went on to state:

"we have to broaden the conversation around how we deliver waste-water treatment works for certain developments." — [Official Report (Hansard), 5 March 2024, p30, col 2].

That is what the motion does. However, the Minister appears to have already decided that the shortfall in funding can be made up by demanding that developers pay more. On 5 March, the Minister stated of the delivery of waste water treatment works for developments that:

"It may not be funded directly by NI Water; it may have to be for developers." — [Official Report (Hansard), 5 March 2024, p31, col 1].

It is not clear what assessment the Minister has made of that new approach, but there will be consequences. The costs involved in improving the capacity of our water and sewerage infrastructures are not negligible. Attempting to raise funding from developers will increase the unit cost per house in those developments — Mr Nesbitt referred to that — and there is likely to be a further reduction in the overall number of houses being built. Significantly, at a time when there is a crisis in demand for social housing, it will lessen the number of social housing units being built. Pushing the cost of housing higher across the board will make social housing unaffordable for and unavailable to those who need it. If the Minister is saying that the current model does not work, let us look at the alternatives. Let us look at what is being proposed today. When the Minister has already admitted to the Assembly that we will have to do things differently when it comes to increasing the capacity of water and sewerage infrastructure for those developments, let us look properly at the options and have an informed debate on the way forward. Tacaím leis an rún agus leis an leasú.

757 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Assessment

Not qualifying

Jev’s structured answers

Assessed 21 October 2026 at 09:58 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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