Assembly Committee Questions Minister Over Recent Events At The Department For Regional Development

The Northern Ireland Assembly Committee for Regional Development met the Minister for Regional Development today.

The Deputy Chairperson, Michelle McIlveen MLA, said today: “When the Committee met on 20 August 2010 we decided to ask the Minister to explain to the Committee, with the utmost clarity, developments since he briefed us on the Independent Review Team’s report on 15 March 2010. We also asked him to set out the further action he proposes to take.

“At Committee today, the Minister made a statement and answered questions on these matters, and he agreed to provide additional information to the Committee on issues which arose during questioning.

“We received correspondence from the Head of the Civil Service, who provided us with a copy of the terms of reference and time frame for the investigation into events which followed the Public Accounts Committee hearing on Northern Ireland Water on 1 July 2010. The Public Accounts Committee also has an ongoing inquiry into procurement governance in Northern Ireland Water.

“At next week’s Committee meeting, by which time PAC will have had an opportunity to clarify its plans for taking forward its own inquiries, we will review the evidence received to date and decide on our next steps. Until then, the Chairperson and I will continue to liaise with the Public Accounts Committee.

Ends