THE WINTER CRISIS | LESSONS TO BE LEARNT IN NORTH

Vital water service should be in public hands

BY PAUL MASKEY MLA

Families queue for water after a system suffering from decades of under-investment collapsed

THE experience of thousands of people across the North during the freeze and thaw over the Christmas and New Year period - and the response of statutory agencies, particularly NIWater (NIW) and the Housing Executive - was unacceptable.
The apparent shortcomings of these agencies included a failure of preparation, a failure to communicate effectively with the public and a failure by Government agencies to recall their staff from Christmas holidays.
There were also serious problems caused by the Housing Executive’s lack of an emergency housing repairs plan, with private contractors tasked with carrying out repairs. In many cases, this has meant long delays and high costs for repairs for Housing Executive tenants, leaving some without water, heating or electricity and, in some cases, all three.
A full inquiry must be held into the failures of NIW and the Housing Executive with the aim of ensuring such a situation is avoided in the future and of securing accountability.
Sinn Féin Regional Development Minister Conor Murphy has ordered such an inquiry into NIW. Social Development Minister Alex Attwood should order an inquiry into the serious failings of the Housing Executive and housing associations.

Response
Sinn Féin’s approach to the recent water shortage problems arising from the extreme winter weather was to:-
•    Prioritise the urgent task of ensuring the water supply was restored;
•    Address the urgent needs of people across the North as quickly and effectively as possible through work in the Executive and local councils;
•    Lead a community response in ensuring elderly and vulnerable people were not left isolated and in need during the water shortages.

Conor Murphy and deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness visited affected residents and convened an emergency Executive meeting to respond to the problems.
Sinn Féin also convened an emergency meeting of various statutory agencies and Belfast City councillors to formulate the necessary co-ordinated response to deal with the problems across the board. Sinn Féin has proposed the establishment of an Emergency Response Forum in the council.
Our activists and representatives, together with community activists and council staff, worked tirelessly for the duration of the water shortages to ensure that elderly and vulnerable people in affected communities were not left isolated and in need by delivering bottled water to their homes.
This followed the work of activists in clearing snow and ice from footways, churches, folds and pensioners’ homes in December.

Public control
It is clear that the North’s water service is suffering from the effects of decades of under-investment in infrastructure under British direct rule.
It is also clear that the NIW GoCo (Government Owned Contractor Operated) model established under direct rule has had a negative impact on the quality of service and the ability for the minister to directly intervene in water service issues.
The GoCo model has removed direct ministerial power over operational decisions on water. The recent crisis must now serve as a wake-up call that a public service as vital as water should be under direct public control through the Department of Regional Development.
NIW has been in existence as an arms-length Government-owned company since 2007. This governance arrangement was established by the previous direct rule administration as a “self-financing business model” which was to become self-sustainable in the long-term through household water charges.

No to privatisation
Conor Murphy has already ruled out the privatisation of these services and reaffirmed the commitment to ensure they remain in full public ownership. He then deferred the proposed household charges over the course of this Assembly term.
In March 2010, Conor Murphy took decisive action in relation to NIW procurement processes after an investigation revealed failures in procurement governance and control by sacking NIW board members.
He has moved to examine the option of bringing NIW back into his department and under central government control and the implications of such a move. He is shortly to bring forward proposals on future governance of NIW which will aim to ensure a high-quality public service.
In the wake of the winter water crisis, other parties have cynically called for the Sinn Féin minister’s resignation.
Yet these are the same politicians who have consistently opposed Sinn Féin’s efforts to strengthen democratic public control over the water service and attempts by the minister to act decisively to improve the standards of NIW.
Unionist parties would have no issue with pouring millions more of public money into a GoCo model which clearly isn’t fit for purpose, as consistently stressed by Conor Murphy.
Behind the scenes, unionist politicians have been pressing for the introduction of water charges while publicly pedalling a different line. People should be under no illusions - if either the DUP or UUP had been in control of DRD, water charges would have been introduced years ago.

Future governance
Sinn Féin has campaigned since 2001 against the plans made under direct rule ministers to force people in the Six Counties to pay a new charge for water when they already pay for this vital service through rates.
The current financial hardships faced by households makes it all the more important to reject the introduction of water charges, which is what some politicians and economists are calling for.
In the coming period, Sinn Féin will continue to work for a high-quality public water service, with Conor Murphy’s proposals on the future governance of the company to be produced in the near future. The inquiry established by the minister will aim to ensure accountability and also to ensure that such a situation does not happen again.
We also believe there should be an investigation into the failures of other government agencies, including the Housing Executive, to ensure that these problems are resolved.
Emergency response forums should be developed in local councils and between government agencies to make sure that the capacity for an urgent, co-ordinated response to emergency situations is improved.
We also need to hear clearly how people should go about claiming reimbursement for the damage caused, another issue we will be working on.
Important lessons must be learnt and we should take this opportunity to move forward with the necessary changes to ensure effective delivery of vital public services.
And while many people suffered hardships over the freeze and thaw period, we also saw a display of community spirit at its best, with hundreds of volunteers dedicating their time in the effort to make sure the needs of vulnerable people were met. All of these volunteers should be commended.