John O'Dowd
Upper Bann · Sinn Féin · Northern Ireland
“As I set out in response to the previous question, we have in place the vacant property rate relief scheme and the small business rate relief scheme, which are very successful. I set aside £10 million in the draft Budget for small business rate relief to be invested.”
“I am particularly keen to hear from those impacted by vacant commercial units and especially about how any phased increase can be implemented in a sustainable way that is fair, proportionate and sustainable within the tax system.”
“I outlined my intent to take that approach in my statement on 18 November, alongside the fact that reform of rating policy should support growth, make better use of property and ensure that the system is fair, proportionate and aligned with wider economic objectives.”
“The accelerator will operate alongside our highly successful Back in Business scheme, which has helped to bring over 100 vacant high street properties back into use since May 2024. Those issues have been the subject of considerable interest and comment in the Assembly, and it is right that we grasp the nettle now.”
“There are no circumstances in which a hard border would be good for the people of Ireland; it would not be good for anyone. Those who suggest that are being naive at best and dangerous at worst, in the sense of not understanding this society. <BR /> <BR />Rural communities along the border are one and the same.”
“This announcement represents the next step in that. That said, I also put on record my intention to strengthen support for small businesses. In that vein, £10 million has been set aside in the draft Budget to broaden the impact of the small business rate relief scheme in order to increase the number of businesses that can benefit from it.…”
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“I have been engaging with my officials on that matter, and we are seeking investment, if we can, through various monitoring rounds or other programmes that the Executive may run now and in the future. If we can properly resource it and put it in place, it will be an extremely beneficial scheme. I am examining ways to deliver that.”
“The homeowner flood protection scheme is available to homeowners. The grant covers up to 90% of costs to a maximum of £10,000, following a survey of the estimated costs. The homeowner is required to make a contribution of 10% of the survey and estimated installation costs, plus any additional costs that may be incurred above £10,000. Further information on the homeowner flood protection grant scheme is available on my Department's website. To date, 130 installations have been completed at a cost of approximately £1 million.”
“Public open evenings will be held later this month from 4.00 pm to 7.00 pm at the following locations: Portadown on 25 June; Downpatrick on 26 June; and Newry on 27 June. Invitations have been issued to those affected, and the Department has issued social media notices to promote attendance. It is intended that a formal report will be compiled by the end of June 2024, with its findings and recommendations made publicly available thereafter.”
“Following the significant flooding that occurred in autumn 2023 across the south and east, including Downpatrick, a joint organisational learning review is well under way to capture any learning identified on preparedness, response and recovery to inform any future collective civil contingencies preparations. While the review is being coordinated by the Executive Office, my Department, along with the Department for Communities and local government, is leading the way on the aspects for which it is responsible. <BR /> <BR />An independent consultant, Jacobs, has been appointed to assist and provide an independent technical insight into the causes of the flooding and to present considerations to inform any viable solutions.”
“Members should contact their local section office first about such matters, as, I am sure, they do. If there are areas of specific concern, Members should contact my private office, and I will ensure that their concern is followed up. <BR /> <BR />The contract for grass cutting is ongoing. Contractors are out cutting grass at present, as is my team in the Department. It is a an operation on a huge scale. I emphasise time and time again, however, that sight lines are a priority and that verges should be cut properly.”
“When I was in post previously, I corresponded with councils and other statutory landowners about that. I am more than happy to do so again.”
“Yes. We work with a number of councils and organisations to promote biodiversity along road verges and at major junctions and roundabouts. I have previously mentioned Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council in the Chamber as an exemplar of how those things can be done. The Department for Infrastructure is a major landowner. A lot of that land is along roadsides, and we plan on using it more and more to increase biodiversity and wildflower distribution. Again, some of it comes back to resources, but, if we can work in partnership with others, it will be an exciting project that will enhance the aesthetic look of many areas.”
“Whether the work is done by staff in my Department or by contractors, there must be a clear sight line at a junction. I am certainly not of the view that they are restricted to a 1-metre strip in any area. They are contracted to ensure safety at junctions. That is paramount. I will certainly review that with my officials to make sure that I am correct. I have reduced areas of grass cutting, but I certainly have not reduced sight lines. They are paramount for road safety.”
“External contractors are used to supplement my Department's internal resources and operate in a similar manner, completing grass cutting in accordance with instructed schedules.”
“Therefore, they are not dedicated solely to grass cutting but provide a uniquely flexible resource. <BR /> <BR />Grass-cutting schedules are prepared at a local level to ensure that two cuts are completed within the timescales laid out in policy. Schedules include additional cuts of areas such as sight lines at junctions, and further responsive treatment at junctions is also undertaken as resources permit.”
“It is my intention that my Department will deliver a full programme of grass cutting in accordance with the new approach to verge management across the road network that I announced in October 2022. That new approach increases the focus on protecting wildlife and promoting biodiversity without compromising road safety and will support the actions needed to comply with the Climate Change Act passed by the Assembly in 2022. <BR /> <BR />All my Department's operational areas implement a blended approach through the use of internal and external contractors for the delivery of verge management. Staff from my Department's internal contractor have been trained in various duties depending on need, such as grass cutting, patching, gully emptying and other responsive duties.”
“I agree, but, unfortunately, when you get into the bureaucracy of government, you sometimes find that you have to find out who owns that public infrastructure. That is the challenge for each Department. However, as I said to Mr Kingston, I am more than happy to play my part, along with my Department, in engaging with any of our councils or the Housing Executive on how we can find solutions. One of the solutions may well be empowering communities and seeing how we can engage with communities and community organisations on how we can support them to maintain areas that are not under the ownership of any Department.”
“As we all know in this place, it is good to talk, and you may find a solution by doing that.”
“I certainly think that there is a responsibility to continue to engage, whether with Belfast City Council, any other council or the Housing Executive, to see whether we can find a common solution to these matters. The unfortunate thing is that, when Departments are dealing with constrained budgets and reduced staff numbers, they have to prioritise their statutory functions, which does not allow them to carry out other matters that they would like to do. I certainly want to see my Department playing its full part in local communities and engaging with and supporting them to improve the environment that people live in, but I do not want to overpromise or lead people on a merry dance by suggesting that there will be a solution from my Department to this. However, my Department and I will play our part in discussions.”
“Officials from my Department attended a workshop on unadopted alleyways hosted by Belfast City Council's people and communities committee in February 2024.”
“My Department is not responsible for the inspection or maintenance of unadopted alleyways that are in the ownership of other parties. It is the Department's policy not to adopt alleyways and pathways that are not essential for safe vehicular and pedestrian access and where the area is already served by a good network of public footways. My Department has been operating, as I have said, in a difficult financial environment for a number of years. My Department fully supports the efforts in local communities to improve the appearance of back entries and other similar spaces in their areas to enhance community pride, reduce antisocial behaviour and improve the general area, and we will continue to engage with statutory agencies and stakeholders in an advisory capacity on the issue.”
“The thing about roads is that you see that happening physically in front of you. That is what happens when you have had an austerity agenda at the heart of the British Government for the past decade.”
“As the Member will be aware, when reports of potholes come in, they are logged in the local section office. Where there is a group of potholes, they are most likely to be inspected by the inspection and maintenance team. Where they meet the criteria, they will be repaired. Where there are significant numbers of potholes in the one area and the resources are available, we will resurface significant stretches of road, as Members have seen in recent months in different areas. I am minded that the June monitoring round is coming up, and I will make a bid in relation to road maintenance to ensure that our network is maintained as well as it can be in the current scenario. <BR /> <BR />As I said to the Members who asked the previous questions, many of our public services are crumbling.”
“Generally, concrete surfacing is used only on rigid pavement construction where all pavement layers are concrete. There are few roads here of that type, and, because of that, concrete is not considered a suitable option for maintenance resurfacing on the existing road network. The use of concrete road surfacing also raises environmental concerns, including noise and embodied carbon. It entails high initial costs, excessive maintenance costs and high replacement costs at the end of life.”
“I thank the Member for his question. We are taking all actions available to us. The Member will be acutely aware that Ministers from all Departments and parties are under significant financial pressure. Since going into the Department, I have engaged with my departmental colleagues on how we improve public services as best we can with the limited public resources available to us. We have set in place a plan for reacting to potholes. I accept that potholes are an issue on many roads, but that is not only the case in this jurisdiction: in the South, England, Scotland and Wales, there is also a potholes crisis. It all goes back to this one issue: 14 years of austerity leading to a deterioration in public services and public infrastructure. Our roads are a glaring example of that.”
“I continue to engage with my Executive colleagues to ensure that my Department is properly resourced and funded.”
“My Department has been operating in a difficult financial environment for a number of years due to underfunding and austerity by the British Government. In response, my Department has had to reduce its road maintenance activities to a limited service that prioritises delivery of essential services for maintaining public safety and protecting the transport network. Consequently, only the highest-priority defects across the network are currently being repaired. That means that defects greater than 50 mm in depth are being repaired across all roads. However, on high-traffic urban and rural roads, defects greater than 20 mm are also being repaired. The level of repairs that can be carried out in any financial year depends on the funding available to my Department.”
“I thank the members and Chair of the Committee for their work on bringing this legislation before the House. It is an important piece of legislation, as a number of Members pointed out, and it is about ensuring that we make life that bit easier for everyone. If the Assembly can achieve that simple task, we will have achieved success. The legislation will bring benefits, each and every day, to many people by improving access to period products. <BR /> <BR />In answer to Mr Durkan's question about availability on the train fleet, under the legislation a train is not defined as a "premises". However, in the spirit of the legislation, we will continue to work with Translink to see how we can provide free period products on our trains. <BR /> <BR />In conclusion, I commend the statutory rule to the Assembly and ask that it be approved.”
“Both organisations must also carry out, in due course after the regulations come into operation, consultation exercises with product users on the specific arrangements for the free provision of period products on their individual premises. <BR /> <BR />I am pleased with how my Department will contribute to the successful delivery of the House's vision of how period poverty can be addressed, giving those who need to use period products the respect they deserve. I thank Translink and NI Water for their cooperation in introducing this important new service. I also thank the Infrastructure Committee for its prompt scrutiny of the policy and the draft regulations. I commend the motion to the Assembly and ask that the statutory rule be approved.”
“They also provide descriptions of "premises" and "persons" for the purpose of the Act. <BR /> <BR />Products will have to be made available in all staff buildings that are used to deliver services to the public and are normally open to the public. That will comprise all 37 Translink bus and train stations, including the new Belfast Grand Central station, which will open later this year, and NI Water's Silent Valley visitor and education centre. Provision for staff and visitors will also have to be made in all Translink and NI Water administrative accommodation. My Department has liaised with Translink and NI Water as to how the regulations will be implemented on their premises.”
“The purpose of the Act and the DFI regulations is to provide vital support to tackle period poverty and dignity by recognising that period products are necessary and essential items that should be made available free of charge and accessible for all persons who need to use them. Under section 2 of the Act, all Departments must specify by regulation which of their public service bodies must establish and maintain arrangements to ensure that period products are obtainable free of charge on their premises. My Department proposes to specify two public service bodies: NI Water and the Northern Ireland Transport Holding Company, which is known better under the trading name of Translink. The regulations will, in effect, require NI Water and Translink to provide free period products for members of the public, staff and visitors on their premises.”
“I am pleased to bring the statutory rule before the Assembly for approval. The Period Products (Department for Infrastructure Specified Public Bodies) Regulations (NI) 2024 will be made under powers conferred by the Period Products (Free Provision) Act (NI) 2022. The regulations were laid before the Assembly on 24 April 2024 and are subject to the draft affirmative resolution procedure, which is the purpose of our debate today. The regulations will come into operation if approved by the Assembly. <BR /> <BR />Members will be aware that the Act, which creates a legal right of free access to period products across the North, came about as a result of a private Member's Bill brought forward by former SDLP MLA Pat Catney. I commend the vision and drive that he and fellow MLAs brought to the debate and the legislation.”
“Yes. Hopefully, diggers will be on the ground in late spring or early summer of 2025, and the scheme is anticipated to take two years to complete.”
“A social value engagement has been carried out to capture the views of the community in the Enniskillen area on what additional benefits can be brought to the town through the delivery of the scheme. That input will help the Department to tailor meaningful social value outcomes as part of a scheme for delivery by the appointed contractor.”
“The term "social value" can be hard to understand for the general public. We have noted that, when my colleagues in the Department are out consulting, it is difficult to get a response from the general public. I am of the view that, if you were to go to somebody and ask what they think of social valuing, you would perhaps spend longer talking about what social valuing is than you would finding out what people would add to it. <BR /> <BR />Social value seeks to create positive benefits for residents, businesses and stakeholder through four themes: delivering zero carbon; promoting well-being; increasing secure employment and skills; and building ethical and resilient supply chains.”
“I am perhaps putting myself into difficulty. The major road infrastructure project that is required in Upper Bann at this stage is the A1 project.”
“I am tempted to say "all of them". Everything in Upper Bann is under consideration.”
“As I said to colleagues, I am working my way through my capital budget, and I hope to be able to make an announcement in the next number of weeks. I am acutely conscious of the death toll on the A1, and I have met Monica Heaney and you and your party colleagues on that matter. I am doing everything in my power to ensure that that project moves on as quickly as possible.”
“I hope to bring the road safety strategy 2030 to the Executive in the coming weeks for their clearance and support. Thereafter, and once the outworkings of our budgets for the Department and our road safety partners are known, work will commence on a detailed action plan to assist in the targeted delivery of the objectives in that strategy. The strategy recognises that collisions are inevitable but does not accept that they should ever result in death or serious injury. By 2030, we aim to reduce death and serious injury by at least 50%, with our long-term aim being to achieve zero road deaths by 2050. We aim to achieve that by taking a holistic approach to road safety through the enforcement of safe roads, safe vehicles and safe people, and we will do that through a programme of education, engineering and enforcement.”
“Think about that: those are people, not simply statistics. They are young and old and all are beloved family members and friends. Every single week, we lose someone on our roads, and I appeal to all road users to ensure that the actions that we take on our roads ensure that we arrive home safely and that the people we share our roads with also arrive home safely.”
“As the Member said, last week, I had a constructive and informative meeting with the police. We discussed how we can work collectively to improve road safety not just on the A5 but across our road network. The Department is looking at further engineering measures that we can implement on the existing A5 to improve road safety, and the police are looking at enforcement measures. However, I have to say that, as I said to Members during Question Time, we can all play our part. It is an issue for society. <BR /> <BR />In the six days since I met the police, two more people have died on our roads, bringing the death toll this year to 24. I send my heartfelt condolences to the families and friends of all who have lost their lives on our roads. In the North, the death rate on our roads is, on average, one per week.”
“The scheme to which the Member refers is a non-profit enterprise that runs a national tree sponsorship scheme to assist local councils with the cost of street tree planting. The Department works closely with a number of councils across a wide range of biodiversity issues, including the provision and maintenance of tree stocks. In Belfast, which has the largest number of street trees, my Department has a formal partnership with Belfast City Council to look after those valuable assets that enhance the amenity of urban areas, as well as contributing to and improving air quality. <BR /> <BR />My Department is willing to consider any schemes or partnerships that will allow the planting of additional trees. I will follow up on the Member's suggestion about the scheme that is running in England, Scotland and Wales.”
“The Department seeks, wherever possible, to replace during the next planting season trees lost through disease, storm damage, vandalism or for other reasons. Generally, that happens over the winter months. Where replacement at the same location is not possible, an alternative site will be sought. The maintenance of trees seeks to prevent obstructions to sight lines and signs, ensuring that they do not become a hazard to road users and allow for the safe passage of road users, as well as maintaining the effectiveness of road lighting.”
“I am more than happy to ask my officials for a report on the matter. The Member is absolutely correct. With any scheme, there should be full consultation with residents and local businesses.”
“No, I have not had sight of that. It has not come across my desk.”
“Despite my support for the biodiversity along our road network, road safety comes first. Sight lines will be maintained. If the Member has any areas of concern, he should report them to his local section office to follow them up. Resource issues mean that there will be challenges for my Department in responding as quickly as it once did. The policy pertains to areas where we can do this safely, but road safety will always take priority.”
“I recently visited Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council, which has an excellent scheme in place. It also faced some criticism at the start around the measures, but when residents understood why they were happening, they were very supportive of them.”
“The Member needs to understand why we have "No mow April" and "No mow May" and why we might have to have "No mow June" as well. It is not for budgetary reasons. We are facing a biodiversity crisis as well as a climate crisis. My Department is a significant landowner, and the grass verges along our roadways and road networks are ideal settings for biodiversity to thrive. We have to manage those road verges from a road safety perspective as well. When I was in this post a couple of years ago, I introduced a new policy on when, how and how often we should cut our grass verges. That has now been brought into line. We are attempting to ensure that sight lines are kept, but, again, we face budgetary pressures around that. <BR /> <BR />When the general public understand why we are doing these things, they are very acceptive and supportive.”
“I do not usually accept meetings while on the Floor of the House, but, given the circumstances, I am more than happy to do so, Andy.”
“The Member will be aware that, in 2023, my Department updated the legislation on inconsiderate and illegal pavement parking. Those measures are in place and include bus stops, cycleways, crossing areas, school patrol areas, school crossings etc. It is now a matter for the PSNI to enforce them. There is also the report on inconsiderate parking, which I will take further time to consider to see whether there is any requirement for new legislation or enhanced measures.”
“Whether I am able to allocate funding to the A5 this year depends on my position when I make my announcement in the summer in relation to the A5 and respond to the recommendations of the Planning Appeals Commission's report. <BR /> <BR />The Member asked whether there are strings attached to the contribution from the Dublin Government. I would not say that there are strings attached, but, obviously, they will want to be assured that their money is being used effectively and efficiently and for the purpose for which it has been designated to my Department. I can assure you and others that that will be the case if and when I make my announcement in the summer.”
“Negotiations are continuing between my officials and the contractor. As you will know, the A6 completion works opened this time last year. There are ongoing discussions between my officials and the contractor about signing off on that contract — the final payment. That is obviously a significant, commercially sensitive engagement that I cannot go into in any further detail. We are also looking at how we move forward with the next phase of the A6, and the Member will be aware of the Mobuoy dump site. We are engaging with the Environment Agency and others to ensure that whatever successful conclusion comes from that takes into account the needs of my Department in moving the project forward.”
“I will be able to announce in the next number of weeks whether the project will move forward significantly in the next financial year.”
“The York Street interchange is one of many priorities for my Department and, indeed, the Executive. We will have to look at how we can deliver some of the major projects. As I said to other Members, I am going through my capital budget and hope to make an announcement on that in the next number of weeks. That will outline whether there will be continued movement on the York Street interchange. <BR /> <BR />Significant priority work has been done, some of which was absolutely necessary. I have talked about the placemaking that we have done in that area. We are placing a significant piece of infrastructure on top of communities and businesses, and it is right and proper that they have their say on how we move forward with the project.”
“Major road schemes are an important part of the work that is delivered by my Department, as we seek to reduce journey times, increase reliability and improve road safety. In October 2022, I published a placemaker and active travel review report on the scheme and asked my officials to carry out further work on three scenarios recommended in it. That work is nearing completion. Due to underinvestment in major road schemes and the constrained budget position, the scheme was considered as part of the prioritisation of major schemes, and further work on it was paused as part of the outworkings of that review. <BR /> <BR />A decision to proceed with the York Street interchange project can be made only when I am confident that there is budget certainty for the scheme and that its delivery is in line with my Department's emerging transport plans.”