To ask the Minister for Infrastructure to detail what steps she is planning to take to address the issue of cars being damaged on potholed roads not owned by her Department.

Article 8 of the Roads (Northern Ireland) Order 1993 places a duty on my Department to maintain all public roads in reasonable condition. This duty is fulfilled by complying with a set of Maintenance Standards for Safety which are designed to ensure a consistent service level across the network and safe highways for all road users.

My Department continues to utilise a system of regular inspections of the public road network and in 2021/22, as in previous years, the highest priority road defects will continue to be repaired across the entire public road network.

My Department is not, however, responsible for maintaining roads which are not within its ownership. The responsibility for the maintenance of such roads lies with the relevant landowners or frontagers. While I understand there would be a desire from frontagers on private roads and lanes to have improvement works carried out by my Department, this is simply not feasible due to the current budget position and the many other competing pressures facing my Department.

My Department will, however, continue to discharge its responsibilities relating to the determination and adoption of new residential streets, sewage facilities and street lighting in line with current legislation. This will include appropriate enforcement action and use of bond monies to complete street works, where developers have failed to complete the agreed works. Until such a time as developments are adopted, responsibility for repair of potholes within private streets developments remains with the developer.