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.
The last ministerial meeting on 'A Bolder Vision for Belfast' was in 2022. Since then, my officials have had ongoing engagement and discussions with project officials from Belfast City Council and the Department for Communities. There is an acknowledgement that the eastern transport plan, which I discussed earlier,…
As has been the experience during the most recent event, there is a strategic contingency group that oversees the preparation for storms and how agencies work together with local communities to mitigate the impact. There are always lessons to be learned, however, and I look forward to rearranging the meeting with the…
I thank the Minister for his answer. The very committed Newcastle community flood defence group that you mentioned has raised the issue of communication between all of the agencies, including the local council. What coordination has taken place between the agencies and the council to ensure that a comprehensive flood…
I had hoped to meet the contingency group that is established in Newcastle last Thursday, but that meeting had to be rearranged, partly as a result of the incoming storm. We are looking to see how we can continue to support communities and businesses in Newcastle, County Down, to alleviate their flooding concerns.…
I am happy to do so. The key to it is that we are providing information to the public. It has to be said that, by and large, the public paid heed to the warnings that were delivered before the weather event. There were no deaths or serious injuries as a direct result of the weather event itself, and we all have to be…
The Minister has anticipated my supplementary question. He mentioned work that may be ongoing between the met offices in the different jurisdictions on this island. Will he undertake to do some more work with his counterparts in the Twenty-six Counties towards the development of an all-island weather warning and…
My Department had been preparing for the storm since the various weather warnings were issued. It has to be remembered that, even when it was at the amber stage, that is still a quite significant weather event. The difference between amber and red is that red indicates a significant threat to life, and there is a…
The Member will be aware that the matter has, understandably, been raised with me a number of times. That has been the case for a number of other watercourses, each of which can tell its own story. The advice of the engineers in my Department, who have the professional qualifications to advise me on such matters, is…
I believe that there was a crossover between the submission of questions for oral answer and the responses to the questions for written answer, so I thank the Minister for those. Is the Minister assured that, in the water management along the Quoile, dredging can play no part in assisting flood alleviation in the…
The Member will be aware that I have already responded on the matter through the five questions for written answer that he has tabled in recent weeks about discharge into the Quoile river. NI Water has advised that Downpatrick waste water treatment works currently treats waste water in line with the parameters and…
One of the first debates that I responded to in the Chamber was on a motion that referred to the introduction of mutualisation. At that stage, I set it out clearly that information was available to me that mutualisation would lead to domestic water charges. That was in March or April 2024. To date, no one has provided…
Just last week, the Communities Committee received a briefing from NI Water on the challenges that it faces. The officials from NI Water said that the capital investment required is nearly double that which is forecast. The Minister has repeatedly highlighted and then ruled out mutualisation, for example. Will he…
Several reviews have been carried out over the years. All of them have come to the same conclusions. Anyone standing in my shoes could change the funding model for NI Water. They could bring in privatisation or mutualisation etc. However, all the reviews came to the conclusion that changing the model would require the…
Maybe you have not been listening. Under my policy, NI Water will stay under the governance of the Executive. It will not be privatised. It will continue to receive a public subvention, which was almost half a billion pounds this year. I will continue to work with my colleagues. I am doing so successfully, because…
There is a difference between a funding model and the amount of funding received. Is the Member telling me that the privatisation of NI Water is now the Opposition's policy?
Minister, are you seriously telling us that you think that the funding model is grand? You seem to be saying that it is about finding odds and sods in January monitoring rounds, with tens of millions here and there. Important though that is, that is no model for the long-term funding of our waste water infrastructure.…
Even if the Executive were in a position to fully fund NI Water during the current price control period, 2021-27, it would connect only a further 4,500 homes. When it comes to those 19,000 homes or whatever figure is thrown out — I think you referred to 17,000 or 18,000 homes — the reality and the facts are that, if…
Some 17,000 new homes across 23 of our towns are still being held up due to the waste water restrictions, so the system is clearly not working. What more can be done, particularly in relation to future monitoring rounds, to ensure that we can get back to homebuilding? Does the Minister agree that a sticking plaster…
I do not agree with the use of the language. There is no certainty for NI Water going out onto the markets either. That has to be said. It has one certainty when it is being funded directly by the Executive: it has, at its back, the Executive — the Government. Going to any institution beyond that brings uncertainty.…
I thank the Minister for his response. In NI Water's 2022-23 annual report, it said that it was being "held hostage" to fluctuations in its funding. Does the Minister agree with that assessment?
I confirm that I have the answer to question 6. First, I want to clarify that the Audit Office report does not state that there should be a comprehensive review of how NI Water is funded. It is important to note that, in its report on the funding of water infrastructure, the NIAO simply encouraged my Department and NI…