Regional development minister Conor Murphy is to appear before an Assembly committee next month to answer questions about the management of NI Water (NIW).
The regional development committee met in closed session today to discuss the suspension of the department’s permanent secretary Paul Priestly and a series of inquiries into NIW since four non-executive directors were sacked by the minister last March following concerns over the tendering process.
Finance minister Sammy Wilson said Mr Murphy had questions to answer about NIW and he expressed the hope that Mr Priestly was not being used as a scapegoat.
“This is a classic ploy,” Mr Wilson said. “Where you know there is going to be some heat because of a particular action you try to find someone to act as a conduit. On the surface of it the minister has got similar questions to answer as the permanent secretary as got to answer.”
Mr Wilson’s DUP colleague and vice-chair of the regional development committee Michelle McIlveen said yesterday’s closed meeting was a welcome start to the investigation of NIW.
“It is unfortunate that the committee will have to wait until 1st September for an opportunity to question the minister but it is vitally important that the committee does so,” she said.
“There will be a number of questions which he will have to answer about exactly how he has handled this entire process. It is important that the committee has the opportunity to question not only the minister but any other relevant personnel so that the public can have full confidence in the operation of government in this area.”
She said it was inappropriate to question confidence in Mr Murphy as minister and confirmed that the committee had not taken any vote on the issue.
SDLP committee member Conall McDevitt said: “Conor Murphy fired four members of the board of NIW on the basis of a report from the Independent Review Team he had appointed. Given the events of the last few days and weeks, and particularly those which led to the suspension of departmental Permanent Secretary Paul Priestly early, there are grounds to question whether that inquiry process was truly independent. That will be the main focus of the committee inquiry.”
He said his party believed that Mr Murphy had to account for the events of the past week including the suspension of his most senior civil servant.
“He expressed his fullest confidence in Mr Priestly late last week. What exactly happened that led Conor Murphy to say [Mr Priestly’s] position was untenable early this week? What led him to change his mind so abruptly, when and how did he find it out and why did he not find it out earlier?