To ask the Minister for Infrastructure (i) how many reports of potholes have been physically checked by DfI Roads on the Ards Peninsula in January and February 2022; and (ii) how many of those potholes have been listed for repair.

My Department does not hold or collate information on a local area basis but rather maintains this information on a Roads Section Office basis, the boundaries of which broadly align with the council boundaries.

While there were 480 potholes reported by the public during January and February 2022 in the Ards and North Down Council area, my Department does not hold records of inspections and repairs in such a form as to allow direct comparison in this manner. It should also be noted that until the completion of the planned inspections, it will not be known how many reports actually relate to potholes as experience has shown that many such reports are often duplicates of the same defect or relating to different issues entirely or indeed may be the responsibility of third parties.

All reported defects are inspected by my officials, the majority of which will be during the next routine inspection, and will be actioned for repair if they meet the intervention criteria set out in my Department’s current limited service maintenance policy. Regrettably my Department does not maintain records of potholes reported by the public which have been listed for repair.

It should be noted that the majority of defects are recorded by officials during routine safety inspections.