Infrastructure Minister Liz Kimmins has said she will resist a “concerted effort” to push for the introduction of domestic water charges in Northern Ireland.
The Sinn Fein minister has insisted the charges “will not be happening”, stating she did not want to add additional pressure on people struggling with the cost of living.
Northern Ireland Water, which is funded by the Department for Infrastructure, provides water and sewerage services.
There has been strong political opposition to the introduction of domestic water charges in Northern Ireland (Rui Vieira/PA)
It has previously warned that uncertainty of financial support and historic underfunding are having a serious impact on wastewater services, which is impacting on the construction sector.
An Audit Office report last year called for a comprehensive review of the current funding arrangements for NI Water.
While non-domestic water charges already apply in Northern Ireland, there has been strong political opposition to introducing domestic water charges.
In her first appearance at ministerial question time since taking on the infrastructure portfolio, Ms Kimmins was asked for her assessment of the funding model of NI Water.
She said: “My department has reviewed water utility company structures across Britain and Ireland for best practice, including mutualisation.
“However, the privatisation and mutualisation models favoured in England and Wales require charges to be paid by domestic water customers, so they are essentially water charges by the back door.
“Furthermore recent evidence has demonstrated that these governance models do not necessarily provide the better levels of services people expect and can lead to higher levels of debt and increasing costs.
“I am keen to see the delivery of improvements to wastewater infrastructure to facilitate housing growth and economic development as well as helping improve water quality.”
Alliance Party MLA Andrew McMurray said that mutualisation is community-ownership, pointing out this was different from privatisation.
The minister responded: “Mutualisation essentially will result in the Executive oversight being relinquished and that is concerning given that we have seen examples where this hasn’t worked well.
“To achieve mutualisation, this would require charges to be paid by domestic water customers, there is no ambiguity around that.
“NI Water would also be required to secure debt and financing at quite a significant scale. In order to do that they will be required to borrow large amounts of money which would have to be financed in some way.
The newly published Programme for Government contains pledges for a number of new social houses to begin being built by 2027, MLAs heard (David Young/PA)
“For me I feel it is just another way of dressing up the introduction of water charges for domestic customers and I am committed to ensuring that we don’t add an additional pressure to people here who are already struggling with the cost of living.”
TUV MLA Timothy Gaston pointed out that Communities Minister Gordon Lyons had announced 100,000 new houses would be built by 2039 and the Executive’s new Programme for Government had committed to more than 5,000 new social houses being started by 2027.
He said: “The current wastewater infrastructure doesn’t support these developments.”
Ms Kimmins said: “The reality is that the overall Executive budget would still not be enough to deliver the wastewater upgrade that is required.
“That does not mean we do nothing and I will continue to work to the best of my ability with all of my Executive colleagues to ensure we can do as much as we can to ensure the homes we have committed to build are built at the earliest possible stage.”
Ulster Unionist MLA Andy Allen asked the minister when her department would accept that the “current funding model for NI Water is not working”.
She said: “I don’t believe that the model isn’t working. I think the problem is we don’t have enough funding.
“I think there is a concerted effort to push us in the direction to implement water charges.
“That will not be happening and I am committed not to doing that.”