Infrastructure gap 'closing', says Minister

NIO Minister Shaun Woodward has welcomed rising investment in water and sewerage services.

The Minister said: “In Northern Ireland, annual investment in our water and sewerage infrastructure has now more than doubled from below £100 million in the late 1990s to £200 million this year. Around £1.1 billion will have been invested in the five years between 2003 and 2008.

“This has meant that the gap between the standard of water and sewerage services in Northern Ireland and those elsewhere in the UK is closing and closing fast.

“This can only be maintained however if tough realities are faced up to. At present we fund this essential service from rates and general taxation which means that other areas such as health and education compete with water and sewerage for finite resources."

The Minister questioned the nature of this choice of competing funding: “Realistically, the only solution is to introduce a fair and affordable level of charges so that we can continue to provide the necessary funding for water and sewerage and at the same time release millions of pounds to better fund other priority services including schools, hospitals and transportation."

Mr Woodward said that people must pay more: "We cannot expect to improve our services to the level of those elsewhere in the UK while at the same time paying much less towards them. In Great Britain the average combined property tax and water and sewerage bills are over £1200 while the average rates bill in Northern Ireland is around £550, less than half what people are paying elsewhere. This is simply not sustainable if we are to maintain the necessary levels of investment in our infrastructure.

“At present Water Service is in the midst of a programme of investment which will see on average three new works being started every fortnight."

The Minister said that the Water Service, with assistance from the Strategic Investment Board, is investing over £735 million on upgrading water and sewerage services over the next three years to 2007/08.

The Water Service must upgrade around 200 wastewater treatment works by 2007, to meet compliance objectives, and invest £200 million on upgrading the public water treatment and distribution systems.

Also a £500 million programme of watermain rehabilitation work is currently underway and work has also started on the new £42 million North Coast Wastewater Treatment plant.

(SP/GB)