Lessons must be learnt

By Carál Ní Chuilín
Undoubtedly we are now emerging from a crisis. The unprecedented weather has exposed severe weaknesses in our infrastructure ranging from the water and sewage network to public housing and substandard crisis management provision.

I want to take this opportunity to praise all of those people over the last few weeks who responded within the community by directly intervening to tackle the problems head on. Community activists, public service workers and emergency services cleared the snow, delivered the water and supported the most vulnerable left without heating.

The first priority was to do all we could as a community to get through the crisis. We challenged those tasked with providing essential services ensuring that hour by hour NI Water and the Housing Executive were forced into taking unprecidented emergency measures.

We may be facing further bad weather so it's important we use this time to hold those responsible for the failures to account. NI Water as one of the 'arms length bodies' concerned was established in preparation for privatisation, a move Sinn Féin firmly opposed.

Much of the difficulty experienced in holding them to account stems from this status. Sinn Féin have argued against additional water charges and for full public control of water services, a position vindicated in recent weeks.
Whilst the weather conditions have been extreme it is clear that the emergency response was simply not fit for purpose.
Lessons must be learnt to avoid a repeat of this totally unacceptable situation. If heads must roll then so be it.

Our experience has been that direct public accountability such as with councils proved to be far more effective in putting in place emergency provision. This ranged from access to bottled water and free showers in leisure facilities to public access to grit and salt supplies.

However it is those tasked with providing public services that in this case have failed to communicate effectively with the community even if it was to allow us to prepare for the worst.
Whilst the immediate concern of us all has to be to ensure the necessary steps are taken to get everyone back on full supply of water and to have those homes which have suffered damage repaired immediately, there is clearly a need for a review of every aspect of all arms length bodies and quangos in the north.

This review should be sooner rather than later. Many of these bodies should be scrapped. Others should be restructured to ensure proper accountability mechanisms are put in place.