Debate contribution: Road Maintenance

Debate contribution by Ms Liz Kimmins on 16 February 2026.

MLA

Ms Liz Kimmins

Party at the time

Sinn Féin

Date

16 February 2026

Type

Debate contribution (made as a minister)

Business

Private Members' Business

Heading

Road Maintenance

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 5391933

Read the official Assembly record

Text

Go raibh maith agat, a Leas-Cheann Comhairle.

I welcome the discussion on the condition of the road network here in the North. We have spoken many times, and in recent weeks in particular, about the high numbers of potholes that have been recorded and the increase in expenditure on public liability claims, specifically over the past five years. I note Members' concerns about the longer-term impact of the Department's limited road maintenance service. I also have serious concerns about that and am actively working to try to change it. I strongly agree that the maintenance of the road network is crucial for the safety of all road users, be they travelling in a vehicle, on a bike or on foot. Investing in the maintenance of our roads is also critical for the movement of goods and the growth of our economy, and to ensuring that our communities are connected. I am well aware of the frustrations and, at times, the significant inconvenience caused by the condition of our roads. People in communities rely on the road network to do business, go to work, go to school and connect with one another. Road safety is an extremely high priority for my Department, and Members will be aware of the work that we have been doing in that regard. We are committed to working proactively to make our roads safer and address the needs of all road users. I am all too aware of the impact of recent storms and cold weather on the road network, and I take the issue very seriously. Although my officials have worked very hard to maintain the road network to the best of their ability, they have nonetheless been forced to concentrate on only the highest-priority road repairs and have had to introduce the limited-service approach to road maintenance, which was mentioned. One Member said that that has been in place for over 10 years. I think that it was put in place in 2015 under the then UUP Regional Development Minister Danny Kennedy and subsequently by the DUP Infrastructure Minister Michelle McIlveen. The issue has impacted on every party in the House that has taken on the Ministry. It is not a new issue, but I am absolutely trying to change the approach, because we all recognise that it is not working for people out there. As a result of that approach, we have seen the continued deterioration of our infrastructure, with large numbers of potholes and other defects developing across the road network, especially after periods of particularly cold or wet weather. Undoubtedly, the winter period has taken a severe toll on the road network. I am not saying that that is the only issue, but those are the facts. The situation has also been exacerbated by many years of underfunding. As mentioned, in the past three months alone, nearly 50,000 defects have been reported, which is close to half the total for the whole of the previous year. Potholes and other surface defects on the roads are more likely to happen at this time of year because, when it rains, water enters the small cracks, and freeze-thaw cycles expand and break apart the surface. That is what we have seen over the past couple of months. Heavy and prolonged rain damages underlying layers, reducing a road's load-bearing capacity and leading to potholes, rutting and surface deformation. Flooding can also erode sub-base materials, damage embankments and block drainage systems, creating long-term water damage. Overall, adverse weather speeds up both surface wear and structural fatigue, increasing our maintenance needs and reducing the lifespan of the road. That is what we have seen in recent times in particular. This winter, we have already seen significant rainfall aligned to the changing weather patterns that we are becoming used to. In January alone, we saw the extremes, beginning with below-average temperatures that resulted in snow, moving to record rainfall and, most recently, storm Chandra, which contributed to a new January rainfall record for the North. As I stated previously, it was the highest level since records began. The motion draws attention to the detrimental consequences of more than a decade of underfunding in our road network. I am committed to delivering essential improvements through the implementation of my Department's road maintenance strategy, which will benefit our citizens, our communities and the wider economy. It is a new approach that will focus our limited resources on safety and value for money. Members on the Benches opposite tell me to get to grips with the issue and take action. That is what I am doing. I have developed that strategy because we recognise that what has been done to date is not working, and that we have to think outside the box. We have to do things differently within the limits of the budget that we have. I have set out my Department's investment needs as part of future Budget exercises, and I will continue to engage with my Executive colleagues on the investment required in our infrastructure in order to maximise the benefit to our communities and generate economic growth.

Much has been said about the amount of money that is required to properly maintain our entire road network. The Barton report stated that it amounts to around £1·6 billion, which is almost double the capital budget that I have for this year. How do we square that circle, folks? How do we ensure that we are maximising what we have when the money simply is not there? Like other Departments, my Department has been operating in a very difficult financial environment, due to British Government underfunding and austerity. The Member for Newry and Armagh, Justin McNulty, joked about the big, bad British Government, which comes as no surprise, as his party colleagues continue to cosy up to the British Government on the green Benches at Westminster. Let me be clear, however: no British Government have served or will ever serve the interests of the people here. I certainly will not give them cover for their lack of investment and lack of care, the impact of which continue to be felt by the Executive and the people whom I represent. I was also asked where our road tax goes. Our road tax goes to Westminster, which then decides what cut we should get. It does not come to the Executive. That is an important point for everyone to remember. If our road tax was directed here, perhaps we could do more with it. The estimated value of the shortfall in funding between what was needed in order to maintain the network and what was available to be spent between 2014 and 2024 is approximately £1 billion. It is readily apparent that a difference in quality should be expected when such a significant shortfall in maintenance spending occurs. The Executive agreed the 2025-26 Budget, and best use has been made of that funding in order to target road resurfacing. In this financial year, I initially allocated £68 million to capital structural maintenance, which includes resurfacing and surface dressing. I am delivering on my commitment to do all that I can to make our roads better. I was able to reprioritise funding within my Department, and that, along with the outcome of the December monitoring round, meant that I was able to announce additional funding of more than £30 million towards improving our roads, including an additional £4 million that was allocated to the road recovery fund to continue to address the poor condition of our rural road network. Diana Armstrong highlighted the issues that impact on rural areas in particular. As I cover a large rural area myself, I am extremely cognisant of those issues. That is why I have made a concerted effort to maximise the funding that I am able to direct to the road recovery fund. She mentioned the Lough Shore Road outside Enniskillen, and she will know that I previously responded to her question about the very complex issues that affect that particular road, including its structure. I hope that the Member will be reassured that the Department is continually assessing and monitoring that road in order to find a long-term solution. However, it is, unfortunately, not that simple or straightforward. In addition to the £30 million that I mentioned, I recently allocated, as Members have said, £7·85 million to mitigate the impact of recent winter weather conditions, given how they have affected our road network. That money is being used to deliver an enhanced structural maintenance programme, which includes large-scale patching and resurfacing that is targeted at those areas of greatest need across the North. That work has already commenced. Whilst the budget for 2025-26 remains challenging, my Department continues to prioritise key essential services, ensuring the delivery of the highest-priority resurfacing, roadside stability and drainage projects. I have set out my Department's investment needs as part of future Budget exercises, and I will continue to engage with Executive colleagues in order to maximise the investment that is required for our infrastructure. It will be challenging to address the years of underfunding, but I am committed to improving our roads, which I have shown through my continued efforts to secure additional funding in-year and through the development of the new road maintenance strategy. This is an opportunity for us to change how we do things. Some Members asked about action plans and all of that. At this stage, that work is very high level, because the public consultation, which is carried out for any strategy or piece of work by the Department, has just closed. We will analyse the responses to the consultation, which will shape what comes next when we finalise the strategy. Hopefully, we will see a real difference, given the impact of 10 years of limited service and underfunding. On 2 December 2025, I launched the public consultation on the strategy, the main objectives of which are to improve the overall condition of the road network and enhance safety and quality — all of the things that we have talked about today and that are important to us all. The strategy will be implemented through the delivery of a targeted programme of intelligent maintenance investment and a sustainable maintenance regime. As Members will know, the consultation ended at the end of last month. Initial indications have shown a positive response, but we are continuing to take a detailed look at the responses that have been provided, and we will publish a consultation report and aim to finalise the strategy in due course. I have also committed to investing £1·3 million in the provision of a groundbreaking full digital survey of the North's entire road network. Members talked about the importance of using digital technology and innovation to make smarter, more effective and more efficient decisions, and that is why we are progressing that aspect. The data that will be provided by the new digital stocktake will assist in targeting resources for routine maintenance activities, such as patching, to ensure the best utilisation of scarce resources. It is not just about looking at what the key issues are now but about recognising what will be problematic in the time ahead and how we can get ahead of that to prevent the situations that we are seeing across the North. While the quality of repairs is currently monitored as part of routine highway inspections, the new digital survey will be a major advance in the assessment of the condition and durability of repairs on the network as well as the performance of reinstatements associated with utility openings. There are cases in which a road that has been resurfaced and is in good condition is opened by various companies but is not reinstated to the standard that we would expect. Such cases are probably a bugbear for all of us. That is another issue that we are attempting to tackle in the digital survey and the new road maintenance strategy. I remain committed to prioritising road maintenance, improving repair quality and ensuring a safer and more resilient road network. Implementing the new strategy will be invaluable in meeting those objectives. However, it is important to recognise that those measures on their own will not address the consequences of years of underinvestment, which is why it is important that I work with all Executive colleagues to ensure that appropriate investment is allocated to improve the quality of our road network and contribute to the delivery of the priorities set out in our agreed Programme for Government. The relentless pressures on public-sector funding have led to significant workforce constraints and operational difficulties that have adversely affected the management and maintenance of the transport network and have contributed to our maintenance backlog. To seek to address those challenges, my officials have been taking forward a transformation programme to reshape how we deliver our transport and road operation and maintenance functions as the funding and workforce challenges are not expected to ease any time soon. We are, therefore, taking a realistic view of the workforce that we expect to have in the future, and the work aims to ensure that we can sustainably and competently deliver our responsibilities in the years ahead. The new strategy is a key part of that wider work. I thank the Members who tabled the motion and for the contributions that Members have made to the debate. I reiterate that the value of our infrastructure and, in particular, our road network cannot be overstated. Long-term underinvestment in our roads is impacting on the network's integrity, leading to steady deterioration, particularly in our rural roads. That is not what the public nor I or my Department want to see. I continue to work with everyone who is willing to work with me to develop a new road maintenance strategy and to work hard to address the impact of years of underinvestment in roads maintenance. I thank Members for the opportunity to speak on the motion. I look forward to seeing real change in the time ahead: that is what I will continue to strive for.

2,350 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Assessment

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Assessed 21 October 2026 at 14:56 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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