To ask the Minister for Infrastructure how many times utility providers have been asked to return to make good roads they have previously dug up, in the past two years.

Utility companies are responsible for the permanent reinstatement of roads to an agreed specification. When utility companies do not reinstate roads in a satisfactory manner, the Department applies the procedures for inspection of reinstatements and for dealing with reinstatement failures as set out in the Northern Ireland Road Authority and Utilities Committee (NIRAUC) Code of Practice for Inspections.

I can confirm there were 1024 failed inspections in 2019/20 and 759 in 2020/21 when a utility company did not carry out a reinstatement to an acceptable standard. The reinstatement defects were notified to the relevant utility company to ensure the necessary remedial works were completed.