Ulster Unionist Infrastructure spokesperson John Stewart MLA has responded to today's announcement by Infrastructure Minister Liz Kimmins of a forensic governance audit into NI Water.

John Stewart MLA said:

“The real crisis at NI Water is not governance, it's capacity. Our wastewater network is at, or beyond, its limits in too many places, and that is what's holding Northern Ireland back.

“Every month this goes unaddressed, more housing developments are blocked because there is no capacity to connect them, and we see house prices and rents pushed higher as a result. This is not a technical problem sitting somewhere in the background. It is stopping homes being built right now.

“The Institute of Directors NI Infrastructure report, published in February 2026, recommended DfI appoint an expert panel to examine how best to fund NI Water. That work should be happening now, alongside this audit, not after it. The two are complementary, not competing, and delaying one to focus on the other only costs us more.

“I've said before that the cost of standing still on water infrastructure is far greater than the cost of investing in it now. Every month lost to process is a month added to that bill.

“This is not complicated. It is far more straightforward to resolve than the complex challenges facing how we run our health service. What it requires is political will.

“DfI should lead on bringing forward a plan to fund NI Water properly, but everyone needs to get behind it. Other parties and other departments cannot keep sticking their heads in the sand and saying no to every proposal that's put in front of them. We don't have time for that.

“I will engage constructively with the Minister on this audit, but it cannot become a reason to delay the capacity investment that's needed now.”