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The ministerial in-tray: what does a new infrastructure minister mean for Northern Ireland?

The return of the Northern Ireland Assembly and Executive on Saturday 3 February 2024 saw a Minister taking control of a department with an incredible range of powers. Senior Strategic Communications Consultant, Michael Jardine outlines what this means for infrastructure development.

On paper at least, the Department for Infrastructure (DfI) is a politician’s dream, offering the potential to make changes that could improve voters’ lives across the country, particularly in areas such as housing, climate action, transport and the economy.

The bad news? Transformational change is now years overdue. Without quick, decisive, radical action, the NI economy will continue to be stifled, public services will be more expensive to deliver, and our climate targets will be almost impossible to meet. Oh, and the Executive’s purse-strings are stretched so tight they’re liable to snap. So… no pressure!

We have looked at the key issues that will be sitting in the ministerial in-tray this week, as Minister O’Dowd gets down to business with his officials, and have scoured Hansard and public statement for any indication on the Minister’s thinking on these critical issues.

Who is John O’Dowd? 

John O’Dowd MLA is one of the most experienced MLAs currently serving with both the NI Assembly and Executive today (first elected to the Assembly in 2003 and having served on the Executive since 2011). Originally trained as a chef, before entering politics, John has represented the Upper Bann constituency since his first election, and previously served as a Councillor on the now defunct Craigavon Borough Council for 14 years.

A senior member of Sinn Féin, Mr O’Dowd has held a wide range of leadership positions within the party and at the Assembly including:

• Sinn Féin Group Leader (2007 – 2011)
• Chair of the Public Accounts Committee (2007 – 2011)
• Interim Deputy First Minister (September – October 2011)
• Education Minister (May 2011 – May 2016)
• Interim Minister for Infrastructure (May – October 2022)
• Minister for Infrastructure (February 2024 – present)

Minister O’Dowd has served in a wider variety of Executive portfolios and leadership positions, most prominently taking over as Deputy First Minister in 2011 when Martin McGuinness ran for Sinn Féin in the 2011 Irish Presidential Election. Most recently Mr O’Dowd acted as caretaker Minister for Infrastructure from May – October 2022, following the SDLP’s Nichola Mallon 2022 election loss.

From a policy perspective, John O’Dowd has had a keen interest in transport infrastructure, particularly railway infrastructure within his constituency of Upper Bann. Topics which the Minister has asked assembly infrastructure questions in the past have included:

• The provision of Greenways across NI
• Capital projects across the department with a particular focus on rail provision
• Road Infrastructure Improvement
• EV Charging Infrastructure
• NI Planning System

Transport infrastructure

Whilst the NI Executive has been collapsed, rail and road infrastructure have been some of the hot button topics both locally and across the island of Ireland.

For any minister keen to leave their mark on the office before the end of the mandate in three years’ time, they must finally address and delivery the now planning approved A5 upgrade. With the campaign gathering steam, a forward thinking and ambitious Minister would be able to capitalise on and publish the Planning Appeals Commissions’ (PAC) recent report and finally commence the upgrade programme. 

Similarly, the York Street Interchange, currently being revised to reconsider provision for local active and public transport links, has the potential to address the only blockage on an otherwise continuous 300+ mile journey from Coleraine to Cork. But in a world where we are seeking to develop less car dependence are we already behind the curve?

“I am determined to do all that I can to progress this significant flagship project… It is vitally important that the A5 project moves forward without further delay.” John O’Dowd MLA, 8 June 2022 

All Island Rail Review

In the absence of a Minister at the helm of the department, other jurisdictions have pushed forward on connectivity, particularly across the border in the Republic of Ireland. The All-Island Rail Review presents the new Minister an opportunity to collaborate with the Irish Government on rail connectivity across the island, both North-South and East-West. Reconnecting the North-West with the rest of the island has been a goal for both local politicians and interest groups alike, and one the Minister should actively work to deliver. 

However, the review doesn’t answer all the critics, or address all expectations. Into the West have protested that the report fails to propose any rail infrastructure through Fermanagh, a critical linkage point to allow onward travel into counties like Monaghan and Cavan. The Minister could see this as an opportunity to build on the work of the All-Island Rail Review and expand on the objective to ensure more people can feel the benefit of a more connected island – but at what cost to a constrained departmental budget?

Minister O’Dowd has been vocal on his calls from greater rail infrastructure across the region but particularly in his own constituency of Upper Bann, advocating passionately for a new rail halt to service the area. He knows the benefits it brings and the impact it can have on the climate emergency, so let’s hope he can translate his passion into concrete action within the department. 

“Central Craigavon needs a rail halt. The provision of a rail halt in this area will take the pressure off traffic in Lurgan and Portadown town centres as well as giving an economic boost to Central Craigavon.” John O’Dowd MLA, 15 November 2021

Modal shift

With climate change commitments for 2030 and beyond, there is a critical need for the Minister to focus on modal shift across Northern Ireland. At the basic level, modal shift speaks to the need to transition from one from of transport to another. NI has one of the highest levels of car dependency in the UK with the average person making 80% of all their journey’s by car according to Queens University Belfast. 

Projects like the Queen’s Island Transport Plan have worked to develop a new modal shift approach towards supporting a change in people’s transport behaviours. The trends are showing that there is a desire among many people and organisations in Belfast and beyond to move towards more sustainable transport and active travel methods including train, bus, cycle and more. 

If the Minister wants to take his climate commitments seriously, then modal shift cuts right to the core of the work that needs to be done. This work needs hard infrastructure support to improve access and permeability with greenways, blueways and cycle infrastructure development at the core of these changes. But the Minister also needs to tackle attitudes towards modal shift. 

We should be encouraged by his short time as “caretaker” Infrastructure Minister before where he announced investments of over £20 million for greenway and active travel measures, building on the enthusiasm of his predecessor in the role, Nicola Mallon.

If we as a society believe that the only way forward is to continue to be a car-centric society, then our chances of developing a sustainable alternative will fall at the first hurdle.

“I am very keen to increase active travel opportunities that will encourage a safer, cleaner travel culture and make a real difference to people’s lives.” John O’Dowd MLA, 6 July 2022

Funding and governance of NI Water

A key issue for this Minister and the Executive as a whole, is to deal with appropriate funding and governance mechanisms for Northern Ireland Water (NIW). With a current funding requirement of around £400 million per annum, NI Water is one of our largest public sector bodies but is in dire need of reform to its funding model, with options including mutualisation voiced as a method by which NI Water could begin to raise part of its funding to help sustain itself. 

The Construction Employers Federation (CEF) produced a report at the beginning of 2024 outlining the critical need for a sustainable funding model and the impact that the delay in implementation has had on the construction and development sectors in the past two years. Any incoming Minister would find this a valuable aid towards addressing the challenge. 

With the unexpected decision of Sinn Féin to take both the Economy and Finance portfolios, it presents the party and its Executive Ministers with a series of difficult financial decisions around revenue raising and NI Water funding. 

Stormont has offset the cost of water charges for a number of years now, but with the Executive likely now having to seek revenue raising measures, the predicted £400 million that could be raised from these charges may be an attractive option for the Minister. 

However, Minister O’Dowd will likely be more inclined to take his lead from his colleagues in the Dáil for whom water chargers were opposed by the party vigorously. Additional comments from the now Economy Minister, Conor Murphy, in December 2023 stated that Sinn Féin remain opposed to domestic water charges but confirmed that the party will resist the implementation or imposition of water charges.

Viewed in this manner, it seems unlikely that the party will move to bring in water charges unless put in a position with no other option.

“Sinn Féin remain opposed to household domestic charges. We already pay for water through our rates.” Conor Murphy MLA, 9 December 2023 

Planning system reform

Planning reform in Northern Ireland has been a long-running issue since the devolution of planning powers to local councils in 2015. The current system had been plagued with delays and inefficiencies with both DfI and councils consistently surpassing their processing targets times for both major and regionally significant applications. 

With major applications averaging 45 weeks, and some regionally significant applications taking more than 350 weeks, in its current form we stand little chance of achieving our climate change and renewable energy commitments by 2030 and beyond. 

With a commitment in the Climate Change Act to generate 80% of its energy from renewable sources by 2030, there is a need to reform the system to deliver on these commitments. As Renewable NI have pointed out, as it stands in 2024, we are going to miss these targets by a significant margin. With current planning timelines, most onshore wind developments are unlikely to have received planning permission let alone be commenced and operational until well into 2030s. It’s critical to look at reforms and existing options to fast-track renewable applications within the planning system, including an urgent review of the Planning Appeals Commission. 

Improving the delivery of onshore wind farms and turbines presents its own political problem for the Minister. Many wind farm applications sit within the more rural areas where local authorities have, in the absence of ministerial guidance and direction, introduced more restrictive polices in their Local Development Plans. At this stage, and without quick work from the Minister, his hands may already be tied in regard to accelerating renewables delivery.

Not all is doom and gloom, however, as planning reform has emerged as a unicorn within Northern Irish politics. Following the reports by the Northern Ireland Audit Office, and previous Public Accounts Committee, there is now broad political consensus among the parties that the system cannot continue in its current form. For any incoming Infrastructure Minister they may find themselves with a more co-operative group of executive colleagues on the topic.

At the beginning of the year, the Northern Ireland Chamber of Commerce commissioned Turley to research and publish a position paper drawing together ten clear recommendations to improve the planning system . These are pragmatic options that draw together the solutions to address issues across the whole system. Put simply, without decisive action, the system at present cannot deliver at the necessary pace to ensure that we meet our net zero, just transition ambitions and affordable housing targets, and this will damage our economy. For the new Minister, we hope that is a helpful starting point to understand the scale challenge, urgency of timescales and practical opportunities to improve and reform the planning system in NI.

We note that a debate on the issue is already tabled for Monday 12 February, so the Minister won’t have too much time to consider his position, before responding on the floor of the Assembly.

“There is a lot of work to be done in terms of improving the road and rail network, getting greenways in place, improving active travel, making sure we are prepared for floods, ensuring our planning system is working effectively.” John O’Dowd MLA, 6 February 2024

DfI budget constraints

With the exception of the period May to October 2022, before the Executive collapsed, the Department for Infrastructure has not previously been held by a Minister in either of the two largest parties in Northern Ireland.  

Some would argue that this has led to it being historically and consistently underfunded by previous Executive’s, particularly within its capital budget (i.e. building and upgrading infrastructure). The only way the department can hope to deliver on its ambitions (like any other department) is to receive adequate funding within its budget. 

One important point to understand is that we have, for the first time, a Sinn Féin Minister controlling the Department for Finance, Infrastructure and the Economy. With control of the purse strings and with ambitious delivery goals, it’s in the party’s interest to make sure DfI receives an increase in its funding. 

Minister O’Dowd has also voiced his desire to see the department adequately supported and resourced. However, with the need to deal with both the crisis in Health and the Public Sector Pay dispute, time will tell whether or not the Minister can properly fund his departments to address the issues in its bulging in-tray. 

“Getting infrastructure right, and investing in it accordingly, can create the foundations for better rural and urban communities. It is the key to unlocking a more prosperous, productive society and I look forward to getting started.” John O’Dowd MLA, 6 February 2024

Bravery goes a long way in politics

So, whilst there are a number of key challenges with the infrastructure portfolio, much has already been done in an absence of an Executive, by both the public and private sectors to identify priority areas that are in need of attention and intervention. 

As the Minister has committed to already, he would be well advised to engage early with industry, trade unions and civil society across these policy areas, but with this engagement and support will come expectation for action to deliver reform, critical project and enact change. 

For further insights on the progress on planning and infrastructure in Northern Ireland, please contact Michael Jardine.

9 February 2024