Assembly watchdog hits out at utility companies

A Stormont Assembly watchdog committee has hit out at utility companies which dig up roads in Northern Ireland, but fail to make adequate repairs.

The committee claimed that the companies are costing the taxpayer millions of pounds a year by not filling in the holes to proper standards.

The Assembly’s Public Accounts Committee report on road works by utility companies and government agencies, which provide water, gas electricity and telecoms services, was published on Thursday.

These utility companies have a statutory right to excavate the public road to install and maintain their pipes and cables. While Roads Service has no power to prevent the utilities making these openings they have introduced a Codes of Practice to ensure that street works are carried out properly.

Under current legislation the utilities are now responsible for keeping their reinstatements in good condition for two years and they have to put their supervisors and road workers through an approved training scheme. Roads Service has the power to inspect reinstatements and require remedial works if they fail to meet the specification.

However the committee’s report further criticises the Department of Regional Development’s Roads Service for failing to ensure work was done properly.

More than a third of road reinstatements are not meeting prescribed standards.

In addition, the Roads Service is spending £10 million a year repairing long-term damage caused by road openings.

Regional Development Minister Peter Robinson has welcomed the Public Accounts Committee’s Report. He said that it supported his Department’s continuing work to deal with unsatisfactory reinstatement of roads.

He said that his Department’s Roads Service had already put in place a detailed action plan covering almost all of the issues highlighted in the original Northern Ireland Audit Office report in February 2001. This action plan will now be reviewed in light of the PAC Report he said.

He added: “A number of successful prosecutions have already been taken out against those utilities who blatantly disregarded the warnings and other prosecutions are in the pipeline.”

(AMcE)