The north’s “creaking” water infrastructure is undermining the region’s economic competitiveness, the chair of a Stormont committee has said.
Fermanagh-South Tyrone MLA Deborah Erskine told the DUP conference that under-investment was causing hold-ups in house building, alongside pollution incidents that were more than “mere inconveniences”.
The chair of the assembly’s infrastructure committee said the DUP was working with the other executive parties on an investment strategy that will “target intervention in roads, transport, schools, health facilities, social housing, water infrastructure and a range of other areas”.
“In recent years, we have seen the challenges that outdated infrastructure can bring – they undermine our economy, our competitiveness and overall quality of life,” she said.
Mrs Erskine pointed to a number of areas which she said gave “cause for optimism”, including the region’s success in attracting foreign direct investment and its high speed broadband.
“Our infrastructure – the roads we travel, the bridges that connect us, the public transport systems that serve us, and the digital networks that drive innovation – all of this is the backbone of our economy and the fabric of everyday life in Northern Ireland,” she said.
“Yet, we know that much of our infrastructure is in need of modernisation and expansion to meet the demands of today and tomorrow.”
She said the “challenges that outdated infrastructure can bring” had become increasingly apparent in recent years.
“Traffic congestion and unreliable public transport links are just the tip of the iceberg,” the DUP MLA said.
“When homes, schools and new businesses can’t be built, and water pollution incidents increase, because water infrastructure is creaking at the seams, these are not mere inconveniences – they undermine our economy, our competitiveness and overall quality of life.”
Mrs Erskine also called for greater investment in public transport.
“We cannot continue to have communities served with public transport that comes twice a day during the week,” she said.
“Our new Grand Central Station is bigger than Kings Cross Station – it is a perfect opportunity to have buses lined up to service north, east, west and south and everything in between.”
