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THE Infrastructure Minister has said there are ‘no quick fixes’ to the infrastructure challenges slowing housing delivery in Tyrone.
Liz Kimmins was speaking during a fireside chat at the Beyond ’26 Live conference in Cookstown, which brought together developers, planners and public bodies involved in building new homes across the North.
The event focused on identifying practical ways to accelerate housing construction, with wastewater capacity emerging as one of the most significant barriers.
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Ms Kimmins said engagement with the house-building sector was vital to better understand delivery challenges and identify workable solutions.
“There are no quick fixes to the infrastructure challenges facing the North, particularly when it comes to wastewater capacity,” she said.
“Continued engagement with the house-building sector is essential to understanding delivery challenges and identifying practical next steps, which is why I welcome these discussions.”
She highlighted the scale of government funding being directed towards the issue, noting that NI Water has received more than £500 million in public funding so far this year – around 92 per-cent of what the utility requested to operate.
Through £30 million in ringfenced allocations introduced by her and her predecessor, Ms Kimmins said wastewater capacity had already been unlocked for around 5,300 properties.
That figure has surpassed the 4,500 homes originally planned under the Price Control 21 programme up to 2028 – despite it only being 2026.
Momentum
The Minister also pointed to positive momentum in the construction sector, noting that the second quarter of 2025 saw the highest number of new housing starts since 2018. Construction output during the same period reached a 15-year high in the North, outperforming levels seen in Britain.
However, Ms Kimmins stressed that funding alone would not resolve the housing bottleneck.
Instead, she said her department was pursuing a three-pronged strategy: securing additional wastewater infrastructure investment from Executive colleagues, examining the role of developer contributions and introducing legislation to support sustainable drainage systems.
She also acknowledged the critical role of the planning system, with local councils responsible for determining more than 99 per-cent of planning applications.
