NI Council calls on Infrastructure Minister to address acute staff shortages

The Sersons Road, outside Magherafelt, requires 130 metres of resurfacing, according to Cllr Denise Johnston.

A notice of motion, calling on Department for Infrastructure (DfI) Minister Liz Kimmins to urgently address acute staff shortages within her department, was unanimously adopted at last Thursday’s (April 24) monthly meeting of Mid Ulster District Council.

The original text of the motion, tabled by Cllr Denise Johnston (SDLP, Moyola DEA), was worded as follows:

“That this Council writes to the DfI Minister to express its deep frustration at the ongoing delay in communications coming from her Department.

“This Council also notes with concern that the Department currently has a 35% staff vacancy rate, with the Mid Ulster area experiencing an even more severe vacancy rate of 50%.

“This situation is deeply worrying, particularly given the impact it may have on the delivery of essential services and infrastructure projects in our district.

“Accordingly, this Council requests that the Minister urgently outlines what steps are being taken to address these serious staffing shortfalls and to improve the timeliness, transparency, and responsiveness of her Department’s communications.”

Speaking at last Thursday’s meeting, Cllr Johnston explained the rationale behind her notice of motion:

“Potholes might not be a reason any of us got involved in politics, but it certainly becomes a feature of our lives as councillors.

“It is a common complaint received by us all. There is a short-sightedness about constantly patching the same pothole. It doesn’t make economic sense. How many claims are made from those who’ve had their tyres or alloys destroyed?

“I have been very frustrated by the delays in responding to and dealing with a variety of issues, such as hedge cutting, potholes, resurfacing and so on.

“Some of my correspondence has had to wait weeks for a reply, and some have required several follow-up emails before a response was given. Many of the issues logged on the website take more often than not months to be acted upon.

“I was recently informed by a DfI official that they were operating at 50% capacity in Mid Ulster, which is higher than the overall average of 35%. Both figures are quite alarming.

“This undoubtedly has a negative impact on DfI delivery for the people of Mid Ulster.

“One of the first issues I raised upon becoming a councillor was Sersons Road, just outside Magherafelt, that requires 130 metres of resurfacing. Two years on and it’s still on the ‘to do’ list.”

The notice of motion was seconded by Cllr Christine McFlynn (SDLP, Magherafelt DEA).

Cllr Seán McPeake (Sinn Féin, Carntogher DEA) proposed the following amendment in lieu of the original final paragraph:

“That this council recognises staffing shortages across all Government Departments, and requests that the Minister for Infrastructure engages with the local sub-regional offices in Mid Ulster to outline steps to address staffing shortages and to improve communication.”

The amendment was seconded by Cllr Nuala McLernon (Sinn Féin, Torrent DEA).

Cllr Seán McPeake explained why he was in favour of the amended wording:

“We need to acknowledge that the core issues that prevent the delivery of public services are the reductions via the block grant which funds public services here.

“However, regardless of the challenges being faced (…), when public bodies are being asked to provide services or answer questions around those services, they have a duty in a time-bound manner to address those questions.

“There are loads of examples of delays in responses to requests being made from this very council to ministers, departments and statutory bodies from queries raised on our behalf, and where timelines have fallen below what is expected.”

Cllr Johnston indicated that she accepted Cllr Seán McPeake’s amendment.

Cllr Trevor Wilson (UUP, Cookstown DEA) was anxious to find out more about staff shortage issues:

“We need to find out the exact number of vacancies that exist within our area.

“If any councillor here logs a complaint, that’s where it stays, it’s logged, there’s no follow-up, there’s no timescales, there’s nothing within that.”

Cllr Dan Kerr (Independent, Torrent DEA) explained that a request he had logged four years ago for new road markings has yet to be acted upon:

“When I was elected I’d raised about Annagher Hill, the road markings.

“I just know that in my job, if I didn’t respond to a directive for four years, I wouldn’t be in that place much longer.

“The lack of follow-up and updates, and having to send email after email, is frustrating for the representative, but it’s equally frustrating for the person who’s contacted you.

“Even an acknowledgement saying ‘We will get back to you within [a given] time period’ would be acceptable. At least they [would be] looking into it, but they don’t even do that.”

Cllr James Burton (DUP, Dungannon DEA) was anxious to be fair to local DfI teams who can only act as far as budgets allow:

“My DUP colleagues [and I] engage with the local DfI teams regularly.

“In their defence they do what they can for you, but they’re restricted in what financial packages they have. Our roads are in bad shape. It used to be you drive on the left of the road, now you drive on what’s left of the road.

“The minister needs to take control and get her department to look at this and set out her priorities.”

Cllr Mark Robinson (DUP, Clogher Valley) echoed his DUP colleague’s remarks:

“Just to concur with previous comments, and indeed to pay tribute to the local office.

“I would say we have a pretty good working relationship with them, but they do seem to be handicapped with the lack of staff at the minute, and I think they just seem to be at the beck and call of contractors.

“I think another problem is that the staff that you have seem to be on restricted duties. Only certain staff can do certain jobs, which seems an awful handicap as well.

“From I joined council, probably one of the most common complaints you get is the road conditions. There’s no doubt they need investment.”

Following what proved to be a lively debate, the notice of motion was unanimously approved in its amended form.