Department for Infrastructure (Northern Ireland)

Department for Infrastructure
Department overview
FormedMay 2016
Preceding Department
  • Department of the Environment
    Department for Regional Development
JurisdictionNorthern Ireland
HeadquartersClarence Court, 10–18 Adelaide Street, Belfast, BT2 8GB
Employees2,279 (March 2019)[1]
Annual budget£291.4 million (current) & £268.2 million (capital) for 2018–19[2]
Minister responsible
Department executive
  • Denis McMahon[3], Permanent Secretary
Websitewww.infrastructure-ni.gov.uk
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The Department for Infrastructure (DfI, Irish: An Roinn Bonneagair;[4] Ulster-Scots: Depairment fur Infrastructure) is a devolved Northern Ireland government department in the Northern Ireland Executive.

Up until May 2016, the department was called the Department for Regional Development.

Aim

DfI's overall aim is to "improve quality of life by securing transport and water infrastructure and shaping the region's long-term strategic development".[5]

Responsibilities

The department's main responsibilities include [6]

  • regional strategic planning and development;
  • transport strategy and sustainable transport;
  • public roads;
  • public transport;
  • air and sea ports;
  • water and sewerage services.

Two transport matters are reserved to Westminster and are therefore not devolved: [7]

DfI's main counterparts in the United Kingdom Government are:

In the Irish Government, its main counterparts are:

Agencies

  • DfI Roads: Responsible for ensuring that measures are taken to implement the roads aspects of the Regional Transportation Strategy for Northern Ireland 2002–12 and that the public road network is managed, maintained and developed. Roads Service is responsible for just over 25,000 kilometres of public roads, approximately 9,000 kilometres of footways, 5,800 bridges, 257,700 streetlights and 370 public car parks.
  • Driver and Vehicle Agency: Responsible for vehicle MOT testing, driver testing and driver licensing.
  • DfI Rivers

History

The Ministry of Home Affairs was established on the formation of Northern Ireland in June 1921 and was responsible for a range of non-economic domestic matters, including local government. A separate Ministry of Health and Local Government was formed in 1944 and was subsequently split in 1965, to create the Ministry of Development. An environment ministry existed in the 1974 Northern Ireland Executive and the ministry was known as the Department of the Environment under direct rule.

The DoE is still a phrase used in everyday language in Northern Ireland to describe the Roads Service, which was once run by the department but is currently an agency of the Department for Infrastructure.

Following a referendum on the Belfast Agreement on 23 May 1998 and the granting of royal assent to the Northern Ireland Act 1998 on 19 November 1998, a Northern Ireland Assembly and Northern Ireland Executive were established by the United Kingdom Government under Prime Minister Tony Blair. The process was known as devolution and was set up to return devolved legislative powers to Northern Ireland. DRD was one of five new devolved Northern Ireland departments created in December 1999 by the Northern Ireland Act 1998 and The Departments (Northern Ireland) Order 1999.

A devolved minister first took office on 2 December 1999. Devolution was suspended for four periods, during which the department came under the responsibility of direct rule ministers from the Northern Ireland Office:

Since 8 May 2007, devolution has operated without interruption.

Ministers for Infrastructure

Minister Image Party Took office Left office
    Peter Robinson DUP 29 November 1999 11 February 2000
Office suspended
    Peter Robinson DUP 30 May 2000 26 July 2000
    Gregory Campbell DUP 27 July 2000 18 October 2001[21]
    Peter Robinson DUP 25 October 2001 11 October 2002
Office suspended
    Conor Murphy Sinn Féin 14 May 2007 4 May 2011
    Danny Kennedy UUP 16 May 2011 2 September 2015
    Michelle McIlveen DUP 21 September 2015 30 March 2016[note 1]
Office renamed Minister for Infrastructure
    Chris Hazzard Sinn Féin 25 May 2016 26 January 2017
Office suspended
    Nichola Mallon SDLP 11 January 2020 5 May 2022
    John O'Dowd Sinn Féin 16 May 2022 27 October 2022
Office suspended
    John O'Dowd Sinn Féin 3 February 2024 Incumbent

Direct rule ministers

During the periods of suspension, the following ministers of the Northern Ireland Office were responsible for the department:

See also

References

  1. ^ "Annual Report and Accounts" (PDF). Department of Infrastructure. Retrieved 3 October 2019.
  2. ^ "Annual Report and Accounts" (PDF). Department of Infrastructure. Retrieved 3 October 2019.
  3. ^ "About DfI - Permanent Secretary, Dr. Denis McMahon". Retrieved 9 May 2024.
  4. ^ "Gaeilge" (in Irish). Department for Regional Development. Retrieved 3 March 2009.
  5. ^ Northern Ireland Budget 2011–15, page 91
  6. ^ "Home". Infrastructure.
  7. ^ "Northern Ireland Act 1998". www.legislation.gov.uk.
  8. ^ "About us". GOV.UK.
  9. ^ Defra: Water Archived 20 December 2010 at the Wayback Machine
  10. ^ "Planning and building - GOV.UK". www.gov.uk.
  11. ^ Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: About Us Archived 17 May 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  12. ^ "Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Mission Statement". Archived from the original on 22 December 2010. Retrieved 5 January 2011.
  13. ^ Article 2, Northern Ireland Act 2000 (Commencement) Order 2000
  14. ^ Article 2, Northern Ireland Act 2000 (Restoration of Devolved Government) Order 2000
  15. ^ Article 1, Northern Ireland Act 2000 (Suspension of Devolved Government) Order 2001
  16. ^ Article 2, Northern Ireland Act 2000 (Restoration of Devolved Government) Order 2001
  17. ^ Article 1, Northern Ireland Act 2000 (Suspension of Devolved Government) (No.2) Order 2001
  18. ^ Article 2, Northern Ireland Act 2000 (Restoration of Devolved Government) (No.2) Order 2001
  19. ^ Article 1, Northern Ireland Act 2000 (Suspension of Devolved Government) Order 2002
  20. ^ Article 2, Northern Ireland Act 2000 (Restoration of Devolved Government) Order 2007
  21. ^ Office suspended for 24 hours on 11 August 2001 and 22 September 2001

Notes

  1. ^ Resigned on 21 September 2015, re-entered office on 23 Sept. till 24 Sept., then 30 Sept.-1 Oct. 2015. Following the 20 October she permanently occupies the office