FDA response to PAC report on Major Capital Projects: Ministers need to take responsibility

FDA National Officer Robert Murtagh has said ministers “need to take responsibility” for overspend on major capital projects in Northern Ireland.

The latest report from the Northern Ireland Assembly Public Accounts Committee’s (PAC) on Major Capital Projects criticised an overspend of more than £3bn.

Responding to the report’s publication, Murtagh said: “Nobody wants to see this kind of overspend on capital projects, especially our members in the NICS.
 
“These projects have progressed against a backdrop of political instability at Stormont, in which we haven’t had a functioning Executive for the majority of the past 8 years. The fact this coincided with a period of rapid inflation in recent years created a perfect storm leading to the kind of overspend we’ve seen.
 
“It’s obviously right for the PAC to review why this has happened and our members will welcome steps to prevent this kind of overspend in the future. The NICS has already undertaken a review of the root causes for delays and cost overruns and implemented recommendations from previous reports from the NIAO and PAC on major capital projects.
 
“However, this isn’t something the civil service can address on its own – it requires political leadership. When the Committee speaks about a need to review leadership, it’s unfair to point the finger solely a civil servants. It is ministers who are elected by the public to deliver on these projects and they need to take responsibility.”

His comments were featured in Civil Service World.