The DUP can solve the Housebuilding Crisis by supporting Water Charges…

This week’s Infrastructure debate in the Assembly was described to me as truly depressing. It was yet another lost opportunity to try and solve the growing wastewater crisis which is engulfing both the housebuilding and the construction sectors.

The Infrastructure Minister, John O’Dowd, insisted that Water Charges would not be introduced in Northern Ireland. But there was little else of value in the entire debate.

The way I see it, we have one political party in Northern Ireland who are completely against Water Charges (Sinn Fein), and some other political parties at Stormont who would like to see some sort of compromise, like the mutualisation of NI Water or the introduction of similar funding solution to solve the wastewater crisis (Alliance, SDLP, UUP). And as for the TUV, as far as I can see they do not believe the current model of funding our water industry is sustainable either.

But the most interesting position is that of the DUP. They believe that NI Water, as a company, should remain in public ownership and have previously released statements saying that they oppose Water Charges because they don’t want to increase the tax burden on households and the current drainage infrastructure problems are caused by HM Government’s failure to properly fund public services.

Fair enough you might say. But looking more closely at the DUP’s 48-page 2024 General Election manifesto, there does not appear to be a single reference to water infrastructure, Water Charges, or the impact the current wastewater crisis is having on the housebuilding industry and the economy in general.

It is slightly puzzling that their manifesto is packed full of references to jobs and growth, with a full section on ‘unleashing our full economic potential’, so why would the most critical issue facing many construction, development and housebuilding companies in Northern Ireland not get a mention?

It could be because their aim is to try and obtain more funding from the UK Government to finance our water infrastructure and therefore it was not necessary to mention it. However, if this is the strategy, to-date, there does not appear to be any willingness from the Westminster government to oblige them.

You might say that Sinn Fein didn’t mention Water Charges either in their 2024 General Election manifesto either, or infeed any meaningful solutions, and that would be absolutely correct.

However, Sinn Fein’s manifesto appears to be more concentrated on ‘standing up for public services’ rather than economic growth. There isn’t the emphasis on driving the Northern Irish economy forward as so obviously is the case in the DUP’s manifesto.

This shows that there is a subtle difference between the two largest parties’ position on this important issue, a divergence which is often missed. This divergence or difference in emphasis is important as where there are differences in politics then there is an opportunity for compromise, but obviously only if both parties are prepared to engage and agree a solution which will serve both their main political aims.

It is a fact that the Northern Ireland Act, and its structures, are built on compromise and that has been the case since the Good Friday Agreement in 1998. So why is this issue any different to any other issue that requires the dark skills of politics to solve it.

Given their strength in the Assembly, unfortunately the UUP, Alliance, SDLP or the TUV can discuss or put forward any number of solutions to the wastewater problems, but these will come to nothing in the medium to short term unless the two largest parties, Sinn Fein and the DUP, are prepared to compromise and agree a new position on Water Charging.

Ultimately it might come down to which party feels the most pain before they decide to blink. Pressure from housing companies and developers is relentless just now – not to mention campaigns for more social housing, better jobs, those stuck on a housing waiting list or young people desperate to get onto the housing ladder.

So, which of these two parties is likely to blink first? That is the big question.

One thing is for sure if this issue isn’t solved soon there won’t be much of a housing industry to return to and investors will have long since decided to leave and put their money into projects elsewhere. We will have lost another generation of opportunity.

But, thinking positively, surely there is a way of encouraging one or both of these parties to take action. There may be a few ways to do this but traditionally this has been achieved through the injection of additional funding from the chancellor at Westminster. This is certainly a big ask of Rachel Reeves as she is already struggling with a mountain of debt, the threat is having to impose new taxes on hard pressed families and a flat-lining economy.

But if she could be convinced to contribute to a long-term borrowing solution for NI Water, which includes any element of gradual charging if the population, then perhaps we could see a way forward. However, there also has to be something in it for the UK Government.

I am not suggesting for one second that the DUP should consider collapsing the Assembly again for the sake of introducing Water Charges that would be ridiculous and completely counterproductive. But the role of the DUP in this current crisis is absolutely critical.

The DUP have a choice, if they want Northern Ireland to thrive economically then they need to find a way of squaring this circle and convince both Sinn Fein and the UK Government to work with them on finding a solution. And, if they are, what are they prepared to give up in order to achieve this?

Cllr Brian Pope is a Chartered Civil Engineer and a former councillor on Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council