Mr Patsy McGlone (Mid Ulster): To ask the Minister for Infrastructure, regarding the February 2025 Deloitte report on the NI Water Investigation of Contract Fraud Allegations, to detail the number of the 41cases involving fraud allegations in which Deloitte (i) conducted a site visit; and (ii) undertook detailed examination.
Minister for Infrastructure: The issue you have raised is an operational matter for NI Water; however, I have sought the required information.
NI Water has advised my Department that, as part of the Deloitte investigation into contract fraud allegations:
(i)No site visits were conducted due to the significant limitations this presented, specifically the passage of time (often up to four years) and the operational nature of the sites. As a result, various works would have taken place on the assets in the intervening period, making it difficult to definitely determine the state of the site at the time of the alleged incompletion of work.
(ii)The 41 cases were spread across a number of different allegation areas. Deloitte examined an appropriate and proportionate number in detail for each of the allegation areas. For the most serious allegation, work paid for but not completed, Deloitte examined four out of the relevant nine sites in detail. Five out of 18 relevant sites were examined in detail regarding allegations related to newly commissioned assets. The other 14 sites raised related to workmanship issues rather than allegations of fraud. The independent Technical Review carried out complementary to the Deloitte independent financial forensic fraud investigation reviewed all 41 sites in detail.
ENDS
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