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.
Go raibh maith agat, a Cholm. My Department continues to work with our colleagues in the Department of Transport, supported by the European Investment Bank (EIB), to consider the recommendations in the review and identify the rail interventions that could be well advanced or delivered over the next decade to 2035.…
Comhghairdeas leat faoi do chéad Tráth na gCeist, a Aire, agus ádh mór ort. Can you update the House on the development of projects proposed under the all-Ireland rail review, Minister?
Maybe I could come back to the Member on that in writing. I have not become aware of any since I have come into post. I can double-check that with the Department and come back to you in writing.
I thank the Minister for her answer. Has her Department made any budget bids to the fund for the delivery of the Knockmore line, which includes that link to Belfast International Airport?
I confirm that Translink received funding through the Department for Transport's Union connectivity fund to undertake a feasibility study regarding the reopening of the railway line between Lisburn and Antrim. As well as considering engineering requirements, demand forecasting and cost estimates, the study is…
At this point, it would be remiss of me to pre-empt what will come out of the current review. I hope to be able to provide the Member with further updates at the earliest possible stage.
I welcome the Minister to her place. We all have examples of this. In Lagan Valley, residents of the Ayrshire development have lived in their homes for years, yet DFI has reported recently that technical designs were not even done or submitted. Residents have been left frustrated and living with unfinished roads. Will…
I thank the Member for that question. That demonstrates just how challenging the issue is, and I have committed to reviewing the guidance and, hopefully, updating it so that it is more streamlined and shows clearly what we can do within our remit to bring the issues to a resolution at the earliest possible stage. That…
I welcome the Minister to her place. Minister, you talk about your legislative responsibility regarding bonds: one of my biggest frustrations in representing the hundreds of people in East Antrim who live on unadopted roads is the ability to call down those bonds. One development in my constituency was abandoned by…
I thank the Member. I completely appreciate her frustration. I know that the issue has come up in many areas. I reiterate the point that, essentially, the Department's hands are tied. It is the responsibility of the developers who sold the houses. People bought those in good faith and expected them to be finished. I…
I welcome the Minister to her first Question Time today. I declare an interest as somebody who lives in an unadopted development. The Minister will be aware that I hope to introduce a private Member's Bill on the issue. There does not seem to be any deterrent for developers who continually build homes but leave the…
That is an important point to clarify for the record. In my view, where the developer defaults, it is the developer's responsibility. They have been paid for the properties that have been built. As for my Department's responsibility, the statutory basis for the adoption of private streets is provided for in the…
It is important to note that the majority of housing developments pass through the various processes of planning, consents, construction and adoption with relatively few issues. Departmental data indicates that over 92% of all housing developments are adopted without the need to engage in enforcement action or have…
At Committee last week, we also talked about the NI Audit Office report, which was published last year. The Department has already undertaken six reviews of funding and the status of NI Water. After all that, we have come to the conclusion that it is best to continue with the existing funding model. The outcome of…
The Minister said that she is not ruling anything in or anything out, but has she, in effect, ruled out the expert-led review of the funding and governance of Northern Ireland Water, which was recommended by the Audit Office? She said that she does not believe that there is anything wrong with the funding model, and I…
I thank the Member for his question. The Finance Minister announced today a funding allocation through the transformation fund that includes £15 million for urban drainage. That is one way of looking at the innovation that is available to treat rain water, which, as NI Water has said, forms a large part of the water…
Given the severe impact of the water capacity crisis on domestic and commercial development, and our ever-growing housing waiting lists, what innovative engineering solutions are being considered? Is best practice across the world being fully explored to try to solve the crisis, which is not new?
I do not believe that the current funding model is not working. The problem is that we do not have enough funding. I have given answers today on options that Members put forward such as mutualisation and privatisation. There is a concerted effort to push us in the direction of implementing water charges: that will not…
Minister, in a recent engagement with the Committee for Communities on housing, Northern Ireland Water highlighted a requirement of £1·8 billion, which has been highlighted repeatedly, but there is no funding for that. At what stage will the Department for Infrastructure accept that the current funding model really is…
I thank the Member for his question. It is important to outline that waste water infrastructure underpins quite a lot of the priorities in the Programme for Government. There is a commitment not just by me as the Minister but across the Executive to deliver on those priorities. As I said in previous answers today, I…
The Minister for Communities has announced the building of 100,000 new houses by 2039, while the Programme for Government (PFG) commits to 5,850 new social houses being started by 2027. The current waste water infrastructure could not support those developments. What conversations have you had with the Minister for…
As I said, I believe that mutualisation is essentially water charges by the back door. A mutualisation model would require the Executive to relinquish oversight, which is not the direction in which we want to go. We want to ensure that we have that level of governance over how water is treated and how the waste water…
I welcome the Minister to her first Question Time. For clarity, because there seems to be some confusion, will she clearly explain why she believes that mutualisation leads to water charges?
A mutualisation model would result in the relinquishing of Executive oversight, which in itself would be concerning. Given that we have seen examples across the water of where mutualisation has not worked well, achieving it here would require domestic water customers to pay charges. There is no ambiguity about that.…