To ask the Minister for Infrastructure for his assessment of the Office for Environmental Protection’s recent report entitled, A Review of Implementation of the Water Framework Directive Regulations and River Basin Management Planning in Northern Ireland.

I welcome the publication of the report and I will now take time to consider the report fully. I recognise the challenges outlined in the report, the majority of which are for DAERA to lead on. My Department will continue to work with the Office for Environmental Protection (OEP), to address the three recommendations in which DfI is specifically referenced, and will input to additional recommendations as required.

In 2024/25, I provided NI Water with a total indicative budget allocation of almost £0.5billion, representing just under 40% of the total non-ring-fenced budget for my Department. This reflects the central importance of water and sewerage services to our society and to improving water quality.

My Department will continue to work closely with NI Water, DAERA and the Northern Ireland Environment Agency, to help deliver improvements in water quality and I will continue to raise the need for NI Water to have secure and sustainable funding, with the NI Executive and the British government, to help ensure the company can meet all its environmental obligations.