The South Down MLA was speaking after it was revealed in the Belfast Telegraph today (1 November) that water infrastructure constraints are blocking progress on a £400m housing development that would provide 2,500 new homes in Derry.

“Today’s news is just the latest evidence of the immense damage our overstretched water infrastructure is having on housing provision and communities across Northern Ireland”, Mr McMurray said.

“There are tens of thousands of new homes that can’t be built across council areas because of water infrastructure constraints, coming at a time when close to 48,000 people are languishing on the social housing waiting list and around 80,0000 are experiencing some form of homelessness.

“The impact on both the environment and the economy also cannot be overlooked, with our waterways and biodiversity harmed by pollution and development of the likes of factories and offices also grinding to a halt, with implications for local businesses.

“While the Minister talks about a three-pronged approach to this issue, there is a fourth prong which grasps the nettle and looks at how we restructure the model by which NI Water is funded. 

“Alliance recently published In Deep Water, our plan to fix Northern Ireland’s broken water and wastewater infrastructure. One of the key recommendations in that plan is for a new funding model for NI Water, and we favour mutualisation, which would allow NI Water to borrow against its asset base and create long-term investment plans to boost capacity in our water system. Guided with strategic advice from a new Infrastructure Commission, this model would deliver the water investment that our communities, economy and environment have been crying out for.”

View our full plan here.