Debate contribution: Flooding and Lack of Recovery Actions: South Down

Debate contribution by Ms Liz Kimmins on 13 January 2026.

MLA

Ms Liz Kimmins

Party at the time

Sinn Féin

Date

13 January 2026

Type

Debate contribution (made as a minister)

Business

Adjournment

Heading

Flooding and Lack of Recovery Actions: South Down

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 5316411

Read the official Assembly record

Text

Go raibh maith agat, a Leas-Cheann Comhairle.

I thank Diane Forsythe for initiating the debate. As you said in your introductory remarks, Diane, the issue unites us all. As an MLA and resident of Newry and Armagh, I share the concerns about the issues that all the MLAs here have articulated. I, too, want to see solutions, not just sticking plasters. I want solutions that will have real impacts for the people whom we all represent and the communities that we all live in. I have listened intently to the contributions and the issues that have been raised by Members, and I have heard loud and clear the concerns about flooding in South Down. I have heard those concerns directly from the people in South Down whom I have met over the last number of months since being appointed as Minister. I have been focused on doing what I can to improve the lives of people here, and an important part of that focus is my Department's flood management activities. Unfortunately, from listening to the debate, you would think that nothing is happening, but a huge amount of work is happening. Some of that will take time, because such incidents and their frequency are still relatively new to us when it comes to how they impact on our constituencies across the North and how we deal with that effectively so that we are not just firefighting all the time. The activities that the Department is focusing on are aimed at reducing the potential adverse consequences of significant floods, primarily those that relate to human health and safety, economic activity and the environment. However, it has to be said that, as Members will be aware, like all Departments, we are limited in resources and funding, and, no matter how many times people try to dispute it, that is a result of year after year of underinvestment and austerity by successive British Governments. That is not an excuse; it is a fact and a reality. That has led us all to a place where we are constantly trying to play catch-up and get our houses in order so that we can deal with not just the challenges that face us now but those that we have been trying to tackle for many years. Without continued and adequate investment in infrastructure, many of the services that we provide will continue to be under strain. For example, approximately 45,000 properties here, which is approximately 5% of all properties across the North, are currently identified as being at flood risk from rivers, the sea or surface water. When climate change is taken into consideration, the number of properties that will be at risk increases by approximately 14,800. I am confident that my Department has been proactive in managing flood risk from rivers and the sea in recent years. Flood risk management plans were published in 2015 and refreshed in 2021. Those plans identify the measures that need to be implemented to manage flood risk here. Managing flood risk involves numerous interventions, and the most effective method of doing so is to prevent, as far as possible, the risk occurring in the first place. Members mentioned planning. My Department is a statutory consultee in the planning process. Advice on flood risk matters is provided to planning authorities to inform their local development plans and the determination of planning applications. If the Member has examples of where we have contributed to flooding issues, he should bring them forward, because I certainly know that we are continually lobbied by applicants who potentially cannot get their applications approved because there is an identified flood risk. That is part of the Department's work to mitigate risk, so that we do not see developments destroyed through flooding in the future. Following the restructuring of central government Departments in May 2016, my Department assumed the lead role in the strategic coordination of the response to all severe weather emergencies. It is responsible for a number of key functions, including working with other organisations to ensure that emergency preparations are as good as they can be and providing knowledge and expertise to help inform the actions of any multi-agency response to severe weather emergencies. To support that multi-agency response, mock deployment exercises are held to train staff and test equipment that is used during a flooding emergency. That has resulted in ongoing, continuous improvement to my Department's emergency response to flooding. That is an important point. The Alliance Member for South Down said that there were no protocols, but I challenge that point, because we are continually learning and are willing to learn to see what else we can do. We carry out intensive work to train staff and ensure that we have the proper protocols in place to respond.

I appreciate the huge anxiety, stress and devastation that even one flooding incident can cause and the long-term impact that it can have on individuals, communities and business owners. We referenced the regional community resilience groups that are in place, and the Newcastle RCRG is a shining example, and I say that not to be patronising. The group is an exemplar of what an RCRG should look like. The Department jointly chairs the multi-agency RCRG, which has continued to engage with the communities that are at risk from severe weather across the North over the past 10 years. To give a sense of how vast the issue is, we are now supporting over 50 communities across the North, and I have no doubt that that number will continue to rise. The Department is not stepping away from its flood-risk responsibilities. In fact, its work with communities helps develop local response plans, because no two areas are the same. Local expertise and knowledge are critical to our response, and they complement the engineering and practical solutions that can be put in place, such as putting sandbags in the right locations and articulating weather information and alerts, where appropriate. The work of RCRGs across the North is acknowledged as one of the best approaches to that type of initiative, not only here but in neighbouring jurisdictions. I will mention the work that has been done with DFI Rivers and the business resilience group that has been developed in Newry under the leadership of Eamonn Connolly and the Newry business improvement district. They have created something really important and effective in order to protect businesses, and other communities that were devastated by the 2023 floods, such as Downpatrick, could look to that model as they move forward. As Members will be aware, in December 2025, my officials, working alongside multi-agency partners, delivered a presentation on storm preparedness in the Assembly as part of the parliamentary excellence programme. The presentation was well received, but it was extremely poorly attended. That was an opportunity for MLAs to hear from and speak directly to officials who work on those issues and develop solutions to manage flood risk in the impacted communities that we represent. Unfortunately, not too many showed up for that event. If the opportunity were to arise again — I am not trying to be smart — it would offer MLAs a good opportunity to do something and to hear in greater detail from the people who are working on such initiatives. I am conscious of the time, so, with your indulgence, a Leas-Cheann Comhairle

, I will try to get through as much as possible.

Thank you. DFI Rivers has a 10-year capital works programme to help plan the investment in new flood defences and existing drainage infrastructure. Projects can be identified through the flood risk management planning process, in which we have used predictive flood modelling to identify locations that are most at risk of flooding. In addition, projects can be identified through our local knowledge of places with a history of flooding, and the RCRGs have a key role to play in that process. Projects are then prioritised based on a range of criteria, including the current level of flood risk, the estimated cost of flood alleviation works and the benefit:cost ratio of potential works. We currently have more than 50 separate projects on the programme, with over half of them at different stages of progress. On timescales for the flood alleviation projects, I would be strongly criticised if I were to rush any of them through without going through the proper procedures. Like Members and officials, I can become frustrated at the length of time that such projects take, but we have to ensure that we are following the proper procedures and also demonstrating due diligence. The delay is therefore not intentional or deliberate, but, rather, because the projects have the potential to be transformative for the communities that they are intended to protect, we have to ensure that the proper procedures are followed. It is important that we get it right. We do not have too many chances to do that, particularly as the issues are becoming worse. In relation to South Down specifically, a feasibility study for Downpatrick has identified viable solutions to protect over 100 properties. As Members have said, further work is being undertaken to develop the business case for the scheme, including a detailed assessment to determine whether the preferred option will be economically feasible. The business case is expected to be completed by spring of this year. I am also very well aware of the recent flooding incidents in Newcastle and the ongoing issues at Marguerite Avenue. I have met the RCRG there, as I mentioned, and the temporary solution there has alleviated the problem to an extent, but I recognise that it is not an adequate long-term solution. On the back of that meeting, I engaged with NI Water and asked what it can do to deliver a long-term solution, and it has provided some updates on that. Those have been shared with the RCRG, and modelling has been taking place to see what will work. I do not think that it is as straightforward as we had hoped, and I am conscious that it has taken time. However, that work is ongoing, and I hope to have further updates on that in the near future. Members also mentioned the more recent events at Tullybrannigan. While it may seem as though Departments are arguing with one another over who has responsibility for that, it is much more complex than saying that it is one Department's fault. The fact that the flooding was the result of a huge amount of water running off the side of the mountain indicates that there is a complex issue there. DFI has looked into it, and no amount of gully clearing there would have been able to alleviate the volumes of water that came down the side of that mountain. Therefore, the onus is on all the Departments responsible to come together to look at what caused that flooding and what we can do to mitigate it. That is being looked at. In relation to some of the other points that have been raised about the A2, I am pleased to say that there has been some progress, notwithstanding the huge challenges and the length of time that it is taking. As Members have said, there has been a lot of development in that area in recent years, and that has caused more rapid surface water run-off in heavy rain than previously, which will overwhelm the drainage system. DFI Roads recently completed an investigation of the existing road drainage infrastructure, including jetting of pipes and cleaning of gullies, and we have identified several locations that require further consideration. A programme of works is being developed to complete the necessary repairs to address those issues. Likewise, at Kilkeel Road in Hilltown, a section of the road collapsed following the flooding of 2023, and there have been traffic controls in place since. However, again, given the complexity of the location, the steepness of the adjacent land necessitated detailed design and ground investigation works, which, I am pleased to say, are now complete. I can also confirm that landowner agreement is in place, a works instruction has been issued, and we await the programme from the contractor and hope that works will commence on site early next month, with an expected time frame of six weeks for completion. I want to give Members confidence that the issues are not unheard, but solutions take time. When you look at the long list of areas where problems seem to have accumulated in quite a short time, you will see that there is a lot of work to do. I thank all Members who spoke. I am happy to engage at any point, if I did not cover some points, as a lot has been discussed this afternoon. It is certainly my intention to keep Members and the community updated because I understand how important the issue is. I will continue to work with my officials, other MLAs and my Executive colleagues to secure the investment needed and deliver the solutions that are needed to give people the reassurance and confidence that they will be protected. I thank everyone, particularly Diane Forsythe who secured the debate, for the discussion and the tone of the debate this evening.

2,210 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Assessment

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Assessed 21 October 2026 at 14:18 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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