Sir, – Northern Ireland has a wastewater drainage problem which threatens to destabilise our house-building programme. Experts predict the lowest number of social housing new-builds in a generation, just when demand is highest.
This is due to a lack of investment in our drainage systems and a political reluctance to impose water charges. Forty drainage networks across 30 towns and cities have been closed and NI Water has reported a £185 million shortfall in funding for 2024/25. It’s a dreadful situation for anyone hoping to buy a new home, move into a social house or build a new factory, and it is an economic car-crash for the construction industry. Urgent legislation is required to allow private developers to fund some of the drainage upgrades, and a new funding model is required for NI Water. – Yours, etc,
BRIAN POPE,
Chartered Civil Engineer,
The Irish Times view on Sinn Féin’s PR problem: questions remain
‘Longford was the town of my dreams. In Ukraine, I lived in a big city and it was terrible’
Red into the record – Frank McNally on why Maxim Litvinov’s Irish years were forgotten, and correcting a confusion of Joycean plaques
I see students in class watching sport on YouTube or shopping on Amazon. The pull of internet distraction is exhausting
Former Alliance Party Councillor,
Banbridge,
Co Down.