Every imported question, contribution and motion, with its classification. Unflagged, uncertain and not-yet-analysed records are all included so the analysis can be checked independently.
Thank you. I will go further and read into the record that the Committee has been very frustrated that, when we have asked the institutions to come before Committee, they have refused and have hidden under the cloth that they are all-island and that their headquarters are in Dublin. We need to find a way, through the…
I thank the Member for taking an intervention. I want to highlight the fact that some of these institutions are global institutions and that these abuses have occurred in other countries around the world, so we need to highlight to them the fact that they have recourse and the means to make the payment to help these…
I beg to move Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. I speak for junior Minister Reilly and me when I say that we feel honoured to move the Second Stage of this important legislation on behalf of the First Minister, the deputy First Minister and the Executive. It is our view that it is one of the most significant Bills to be…
Minister, today, everyone in NI Water must be breathing a huge sigh of relief because you have waded in to straighten them out, bail them out and admonish their board and leadership. The statement is a bizarre distraction and diversion from the real issues at hand in NI Water, which relate to water and waste water.…
That is the point of the report: to ensure that we have a grip on what is happening and how money is spent. When the report is published, I am sure, the Member will go through it in great detail to see the level of detail that PwC has gone into as part of that work. It will be food for thought for everyone about how…
A variance of over £80 million in the most recent three years is quite considerable, but we cannot avoid the fact that an arm's-length body is accountable to its sponsoring Department for performance and use of resource. Minister, there is a worrying acceptance that the Department for Infrastructure does not have a…
That figure is commercially sensitive, particularly given the time frame of the investigation, so it is not a number that I can disclose. I am sure that the Member will appreciate that.
I thank the Minister for her statement. I agree with the Minister that it is disappointing that the board was not able to manage the budget, but I also agree with the Minister in her statement when she says that the Department needs to carefully profile its funding. Given that, can the Minister tell the House how much…
Apologies, Mr Speaker. I do not know how many times I have said in here what the Department is doing. We have the three-pronged approach. We have done the investigation to ensure that the budget is being spent appropriately. We have found areas where improvements can be made, and we are working towards that. If the…
Apologies, a Cheann Comhairle We hear all these proposals, but I have yet to hear the Opposition's alternative. I have presented I have presented what my approach is. I have worked —.
Nothing surprises me any more in the Chamber. I do not know how many times I have to outline what my approach has been. You obviously do not think that it is working. It is important to identify that this is a resource budget, not capital, so that is what the investigation was looking at; that is where the overspend…
Minister, I wish that I could thank you for your statement, but I cannot, because it is a waste of the Assembly's time. It is an utter waste. I do not know which detective you got to do the forensic exercise — whether it was Columbo or perhaps Inspector Clouseau. Having read the statement, I think that it…
I thank the Minister for her statement. Minister, your statement, under "Payments to Supplier", states: "if NI Water had been able to negotiate ... costs incurred were, arguably, optional, and NI Water could have chosen to not incur the cost." We hear, "They need more money, they need more money, they need more…
What would the Minister say to those who suggest that the report merely provides a distraction from her Department's ongoing failures to provide the necessary capital funding to bring Northern Ireland Water treatment works up to compliance standards?
When I first gave a statement to the Assembly to make Members aware that I was taking those steps, I made it clear that they were a consequence of that instruction to overspend. Members will be aware that, if the Executive were to overspend their Budget, there would be serious consequences, which are outlined by the…
I thank the Minister for her statement today. 'Managing Public Money Northern Ireland' sets out guidance on the proper handling of public money. As you set out in your statement, Minister, any direction by the board of Northern Ireland Water to overspend without prior agreement is technically a breach. It is clear…
I thank the Minister for her statement. In the past week, the Fiscal Council has stated that Northern Ireland Water's funding model is neither fit for purpose nor sustainable. At the same time, human waste is going into Belfast lough because of our old infrastructure. Today, it has been laid bare that Northern Ireland…
I thank the Minister for the statement. It outlines that there has been a variance in the final out-turn of £80 million across the most recent three-year period. If that has been potentially going on for several years, why is the Department only addressing the issue now? Was it ignored by former Minister O'Dowd?
I thank the Minister for her statement. She highlighted the fact that the board did not stay within its budget because it spent what it wanted to spend rather than what it had. Considering the number of statutory functions and obligations that have to be carried out, where does assessed need come into the equation?…
I thank the Minister for her statement. None of it comes as a great surprise, Minister, as you will be aware. Was PwC able to quantify the savings that could have been made in the three areas recommended in the report? Given that NI Water is the biggest consumer of energy of all our public bodies, are you confident…
I do not know how many times I have to outline the work that I am doing. We have repeatedly pointed to the approach that the Department has taken to the developer contributions consultation, the sustainable drainage systems (SuDS) Bill and our work with Executive colleagues. This piece of work has helped us to look at…
I thank the Minister for her statement. It says that the Northern Ireland Water board did not base its financial decisions on the budget that it had but on the budget that it wanted. The Minister says that she will work with the board to prevent any recurrence of such an issue. We know that Northern Ireland Water…