Patsy McGlone 29th September 2010

McGlone: Murphy must be open about NIW payouts

SDLP Deputy Leader Patsy McGlone has demanded that Sinn Féin Water Minister Conor Murphy publishes details of an out of court settlement involving Northern Ireland Water (NIW).

Last year, when the introduction of water charges was postponed, NIW cancelled a £70m contract with Steria to provide bills to its customers.

Steria took NIW to court and a confidential payout has now been agreed.

Last year, a senior official at NI Water said that terminating the contract could cost up to £3m, but that it would ultimately save money.

Mr McGlone, who is a member of Stormont's Public Accounts Committee (PAC), said: “NIW’s figure of £3m appears to have been a very conservative estimate which has given us, in the SDLP, further cause for concern.

“It is vital that Sinn Féin Minister Conor Murphy, whose department oversees NIW, reveals to the public the exact amount paid out to Steria.

"Every day people contact my constituency office about the harsh problems facing them due to existing cutbacks in public spending, whether it’s not being able to get a bed in hospital, unemployment, holdups with school new builds, or difficulties in getting care packages for a sick relative.

“It is therefore wholly unacceptable for public money to be frittered away and government departments have a duty to the public to be totally transparent about their spending.

“Taxpayers deserve to know how much has been spent from the public purse on this payout. The more the detail is concealed from us, the more we will have to dig until we get it."