Minsters to probe why NI Water is £5m in the red

The Northern Ireland Government has announced it is calling in forensic accountants to investigate why NI Water has gone into the red.

The decision by infrastructure minister Liz Kimmins comes after the publicly owned company  informed her department of an estimated overspend of about £3m. At one point, the excess was nearer £5m. The accountants are expected to report within about six weeks.

Kimmins’ department has responsibility for water policy and the company. She said she had given senior management as many opportunities as possible “to try and ensure they are doing everything they can to live within their budget”.

NI Water said it would "be working with DfI [Department for Infrastructure] in line with minister Kimmins’ instructions".

Speaking during a statement in Stormont, Kimmins said her department had allocated a budget of £137m plus an extra allowance of £11.5m to NI Water, which represented around a quarter of the  department's budget.

"It's hugely disappointing that despite ongoing engagement with the chair on the need to live within budget, the board of NI Water has decided not to take action to do so," Kimmins said.

"Difficult decisions are having to be made across all departments and arm's-length bodies and therefore it is essential that I fully understand the budgetary management decisions that the board of NI Water has taken this year that have led to this disappointing outcome,” she added.

Meanwhile, in a related but separate move, Kimmins’ department has begun consulting on developer contributions to help fund improvements to Northern Ireland’s creaking wastewater system which is holding up development across the region. The consultation proposes two possible options - voluntary or obligatory - as well as a combination of the two.

Under a voluntary scheme, developers could voluntarily pay to offset the costs of upgrading or replacing wastewater infrastructure where it is preventing new connections in specific areas.

Alternatively, a compulsory wastewater levy could be introduced, requiring a financial contribution from developers which would be used on a prioritised needs basis across the whole of the region, not just the areas where they directly benefit.