To ask the Minister for Infrastructure, given that NI Water has paused works to increase capacity in wastewater treatment plants to prevent untreated pollution entering Belfast Lough, to outline any action she will take to ensure the necessary funding is provided to allow these essential works to proceed.

Ms Kimmins (The Minister for Infrastructure)

I am clear that there needs to be investment in drainage and waste water treatment around Belfast lough. With regard to the necessary funding for those projects, I assure the Member that I have been working hard to deliver the most funding possible within the budget available to my Department. This year alone, NI Water has received over £500 million of public money, representing 23% of the opening resource and over 40% of the general capital budget allocated to my Department. At opening budget, NI Water was receiving 86% of what, it identified, it could deliver this year, and, when the additional £11 million capital funding that I was able to secure in June monitoring is taken into consideration, that increases to almost 90% of its ask, which is a significant level of investment in our water and waste water infrastructure. It is for the board of NI Water to prioritise the funding that it has been allocated to ensure the delivery of water and waste water services across the North. Members will be familiar with my three-pronged approach, which I am progressing and delivering: securing more investment for waste water infrastructure from Executive colleagues; considering the approach to developer contributions; and bringing in legislation to provide for sustainable drainage systems (SuDS). Additionally, my Department has secured £15 million in funding from the transformation fund that will implement a pilot project to help transform the way in which rainwater is managed in the Belfast area, and I am progressing further bids to the transformation fund for investment in waste water treatment. As I have said on many occasions, however, funding is not the only answer, and I have been encouraged by NI Water's delivery of faster and lower-cost solutions to how it manages waste water. I have advised NI Water to look at more options in that regard, and I look forward to the company using innovation to unlock waste water capacity and protecting the environment in other areas across the North. Finally, in dealing with the very serious challenges in Belfast lough, it is vital that we continue to work collaboratively across government. My Department is working closely with the environmental regulator, officials in DAERA and DFC and other stakeholders as we seek to deliver solutions. I remain committed to working together and will continue to make the case for additional funding to expedite the delivery of those projects in Belfast.

Ms Kimmins

As the Member may be aware, that £2 billion shortfall is over a number of years. Given the overall Executive Budget, it would be unrealistic to say that that could be met. However, I am an optimist, and it is important that we look at what is available to us and how we can do that. That is why I have talked about some of the innovation that NI Water has already shown. We have seen delays to the living with water programme for Belfast because of a 60% increase in the original cost. We have to manage and work through that and see how we can continue to deliver on all the issues. I am under no illusions. I have said on many occasions that this is extremely challenging; there is no doubt about that. That is why I am looking at all the options available to me, whether it is through securing additional funding with work through the Executive, the developer contributions options or the sustainable options for waste water treatment and drainage solutions. We can make a real difference. As well as working collaboratively with NI Water, there are solutions out there, and I am working with it to achieve that.

Ms Finnegan

Will the Minister plan for natural sustainable urban drainage such as the urban drainage transformation project to reduce spills into Belfast lough, thereby improving water quality?

Ms Kimmins

As I suggested there, the aim of the pilot project is to make a robust case to transform the way in which rainwater is managed in towns and cities by managing rainwater naturally on the surface and slowing the flow into our rivers and pipe drainage system. Slowing that flow will help to reduce flood risks and improve water quality by reducing spills from combined sewers. I recently had the privilege of seeing how that is working in the Eglinton area of Derry. There is a pilot project in place there. We have seen in real life how that is slowing the flow. Hopefully, we will see positive impacts from that. The initial focus of the pilot is in the Fortwilliam and Whitehouse catchments of Belfast, where specific surface water and sewerage issues have been identified. The pilot project aims to retrofit 10,000 cubic metres of rainwater storage that will either divert or delay its entry into the combined sewerage network in order to increase capacity and, therefore, increase the system's capacity to handle storm conditions. As I have said before, such projects and other solutions mean that we can ensure that the water that comes through the system to be treated is water that needs to be treated and is not rainwater that is taking up capacity and using up resource. We are trying to be sensible and use the natural options available to us that will help to alleviate the pressure on the overall system.

Mr Chambers

With the clock ticking down on the compliance of the Kinnegar treatment plant, where do the unacceptable levels of pollution entering Belfast lough sit in the priorities of the Minister's Department?

Ms Kimmins

That is a major priority. I have been working with the Agriculture Minister on those serious issues. I have already outlined some of the steps that I am taking to offset that. You will be aware of the recent investigation by the Office for Environmental Protection (OEP): I welcome that, because it gives us an opportunity to look at how we can do things differently. My Department will fully cooperate with the OEP on that. However, compliance is the Department of Agriculture's responsibility. As I have said, I am working collaboratively with the Minister and all stakeholders to see what we can do to address the issue at earliest possible stage.

Mr O'Toole

Minister, I am slightly at a loss. Your colleague the Finance Minister and you were not impressed by my asking about mismanagement of the capital budget. However, you have just said that there is not enough money for NI Water. You have just handed back £140 million in unspent capital to the centre in this monitoring round. That is remarkable mismanagement. Given that, when will we see a comprehensive, multi-year plan for investment in NI Water? You have talked about a developer levy and about seeking more money from your colleagues: when will that convert into a plan for us to rescue Belfast lough and our water system more generally?

Ms Kimmins

The Member has chosen his words carefully, because he is fully aware of why there has been an underspend in capital in my Department. The issue with the A5 is completely beyond my control. I cannot spend money that I am not allowed to spend, and that is the reality of it. However, the Member will also be aware that, in the Minister's statement, he outlined a further allocation of almost £60 million back into my Department to deal with some of the issues that he has outlined. That money will be put to good use. Let me be clear: we continue to work extremely hard to deal with the issues that he has outlined. It is unfortunate and disappointing that we are in this position. I would love to have spent that money on the A5 and to have construction well under way. Unfortunately, that was not to be. However, as you know, legal proceedings started today on the appeal. I will continue to look at what is available to me. I have outlined clearly what we are doing through the different avenues of work that are under way to try to tackle the issues. I have outlined exactly how much NI Water has been allocated in this financial year and what we have been able to do with that. I will continue to work with everybody to ensure that we find solutions and continue to make good progress on the issue.

Mr Gaston

Minister, the farming community is often used by Northern Ireland Water as a convenient scapegoat for the pollution in many of our loughs and waterways. Will the Minister update the House on what immediate steps she is taking to get her own house in order and stop millions of tons of raw sewage being dumped into our loughs and waterways annually by Northern Ireland Water?

Ms Kimmins

The "millions of tons" that the Member refers to might be a wee bit of an exaggeration. I have a breakdown of the content of the spills that have gone into some of the waterways. We do not want any to go in; I want to make that very clear. I do not want anybody to be scapegoated. There is work for us all in tackling the issue, and there is a responsibility on everybody. I will play my part in that. We are working collaboratively with NI Water and other Departments to ensure that we find solutions that are viable, make sense and are realistic in addressing what we are dealing with. Funding is, undoubtedly, a huge challenge, but we have to make the best of the funding that we have. That is what I am committed to doing.