Department For Infrastructure (Northern Ireland)
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The Department for Infrastructure (DfI, ; ) is a
devolved Devolution is the statutory delegation of powers from the central government of a sovereign state to govern at a subnational level, such as a regional or local level. It is a form of administrative decentralization. Devolved territories ...
Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...
government department in the
Northern Ireland Executive The Northern Ireland Executive (Irish language, Irish: ''Feidhmeannas Thuaisceart Éireann'', Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster Scots: ''Norlin Airlan Executive'') is the devolution, devolved government of Northern Ireland, an administrative branc ...
. Up until May 2016, the department was called the Department for Regional Development.


Aim

DfI's overall aim is to "improve quality of life by securing transport and water infrastructure and shaping the region's long-term strategic development".


Responsibilities

The department's main responsibilities include * regional strategic planning and development; * transport strategy and
sustainable transport Sustainable transport is transportation sustainability, sustainable in terms of their social and Environmental issue, environmental impacts. Components for evaluating sustainability include the particular vehicles used; the source of energy; and ...
; * public roads; * public transport; * air and sea ports; * water and sewerage services. Two transport matters are
reserved Reserved is a Polish apparel retailer headquartered in Gdańsk, Poland. It was founded in 1999 and remains the flagship brand of the LPP (company), LPP group, which has more than 2,200 retail stores located in over 38 countries and also owns su ...
to Westminster and are therefore not devolved: *
navigation Navigation is a field of study that focuses on the process of monitoring and controlling the motion, movement of a craft or vehicle from one place to another.Bowditch, 2003:799. The field of navigation includes four general categories: land navig ...
(including
merchant shipping Maritime transport (or ocean transport) or more generally waterborne transport, is the transport of people (passengers or goods (cargo) via waterways. Freight transport by watercraft has been widely used throughout recorded history, as it pro ...
) *
civil aviation Civil aviation is one of two major categories of flying, representing all non-military and non-state aviation, which can be both private and commercial. Most countries in the world are members of the International Civil Aviation Organization and ...
DfI's main counterparts in the
United Kingdom Government His Majesty's Government, abbreviated to HM Government or otherwise UK Government, is the central executive authority of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
are: * the
Department for Transport The Department for Transport (DfT) is a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for the English transport network and a limited number of transport ...
; * the
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) is a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for environmental quality, environmenta ...
(on water); * the
Department for Communities and Local Government The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) is a ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for housing, communities, and local government in England. It was established in May 200 ...
(on planning). In the
Irish Government The Government of Ireland () is the executive authority of Ireland, headed by the , the head of government. The government – also known as the cabinet – is composed of ministers, each of whom must be a member of the , which consists of ...
, its main counterparts are: * the
Department of Transport A ministry of transport or transportation is a ministry responsible for transportation within a country. It usually is administered by the ''minister for transport''. The term is also sometimes applied to the departments or other government a ...
; * the
Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage The Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage () is a department of the Government of Ireland. It is led by the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage. Departmental team The official headquarters and ministerial office ...
(on water and planning).


Agencies

* DfI Roads: Responsible for ensuring that measures are taken to implement the roads aspects of the Regional Transportation Strategy for Northern Ireland 2002–12 and that the public road network is managed, maintained and developed. Roads Service is responsible for just over 25,000 kilometres of public roads, approximately 9,000 kilometres of footways, 5,800 bridges, 257,700 streetlights and 370 public car parks. *
Driver and Vehicle Agency The Driver and Vehicle Agency (DVA; ) is a government agency of the Department for Infrastructure in Northern Ireland. The agency is responsible for conducting vehicle testing, driver testing and the issuance of driving licences. It was crea ...
: Responsible for vehicle MOT testing, driver testing and driver licensing, including licensing for taxi drivers. * DfI Rivers


History

The
Ministry of Home Affairs An interior ministry or ministry of the interior (also called ministry of home affairs or ministry of internal affairs) is a government department that is responsible for domestic policy, public security and law enforcement. In some states, the i ...
was established on the formation of Northern Ireland in June 1921 and was responsible for a range of non-economic domestic matters, including local government. A separate Ministry of Health and Local Government was formed in 1944 and was subsequently split in 1965, to create the Ministry of Development. An environment ministry existed in the 1974
Northern Ireland Executive The Northern Ireland Executive (Irish language, Irish: ''Feidhmeannas Thuaisceart Éireann'', Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster Scots: ''Norlin Airlan Executive'') is the devolution, devolved government of Northern Ireland, an administrative branc ...
and the ministry was known as the Department of the Environment under direct rule. The DoE is still a phrase used in everyday language in Northern Ireland to describe the Roads Service, which was once run by the department but is currently an agency of the Department for Infrastructure. Following a
referendum A referendum, plebiscite, or ballot measure is a Direct democracy, direct vote by the Constituency, electorate (rather than their Representative democracy, representatives) on a proposal, law, or political issue. A referendum may be either bin ...
on the
Belfast Agreement The Good Friday Agreement (GFA) or Belfast Agreement ( or ; or ) is a pair of agreements signed on 10 April (Good Friday) 1998 that ended most of the violence of the Troubles, an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland since the la ...
on 23 May 1998 and the granting of
royal assent Royal assent is the method by which a monarch formally approves an act of the legislature, either directly or through an official acting on the monarch's behalf. In some jurisdictions, royal assent is equivalent to promulgation, while in othe ...
to the
Northern Ireland Act 1998 __NOTOC__ The Northern Ireland Act 1998 (c. 47) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which allowed Westminster to devolve power to Northern Ireland, after decades of direct rule. It renamed the New Northern Ireland Assembly, establi ...
on 19 November 1998, a
Northern Ireland Assembly The Northern Ireland Assembly (; ), often referred to by the metonym ''Stormont'', is the devolved unicameral legislature of Northern Ireland. It has power to legislate in a wide range of areas that are not explicitly reserved to the Parliam ...
and
Northern Ireland Executive The Northern Ireland Executive (Irish language, Irish: ''Feidhmeannas Thuaisceart Éireann'', Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster Scots: ''Norlin Airlan Executive'') is the devolution, devolved government of Northern Ireland, an administrative branc ...
were established by the
United Kingdom Government His Majesty's Government, abbreviated to HM Government or otherwise UK Government, is the central executive authority of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
under Prime Minister
Tony Blair Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He was Leader ...
. The process was known as
devolution Devolution is the statutory delegation of powers from the central government of a sovereign state to govern at a subnational level, such as a regional or local level. It is a form of administrative decentralization. Devolved territori ...
and was set up to return devolved legislative powers to Northern Ireland. DRD was one of five new devolved Northern Ireland departments created in December 1999 by the
Northern Ireland Act 1998 __NOTOC__ The Northern Ireland Act 1998 (c. 47) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which allowed Westminster to devolve power to Northern Ireland, after decades of direct rule. It renamed the New Northern Ireland Assembly, establi ...
and The Departments (Northern Ireland) Order 1999. A devolved minister first took office on 2 December 1999. Devolution was suspended for six periods, during which the department came under the responsibility of
direct rule In political science, direct rule is when an imperial or central power takes direct control over the legislature, executive and civil administration of an otherwise largely self-governing territory. Examples Chechnya In 1991, Chechen separat ...
ministers from the
Northern Ireland Office The Northern Ireland Office (NIO; , Ulster-Scots: ''Norlin Airlann Oaffis'') is a ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for handling Northern Ireland affairs. The NIO is led by the Secretary of S ...
: * between 12 February 2000 and 30 May 2000; * on 11 August 2001; * on 22 September 2001; * between 15 October 2002 and 8 May 2007.Article 2, Northern Ireland Act 2000 (Restoration of Devolved Government) Order 2007 * between 26 January 2017 and 11 January 2020 * between 27 October 2022 and 3 February 2024


Ministers for Infrastructure


Direct rule ministers

During the periods of suspension, the following ministers of the
Northern Ireland Office The Northern Ireland Office (NIO; , Ulster-Scots: ''Norlin Airlann Oaffis'') is a ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for handling Northern Ireland affairs. The NIO is led by the Secretary of S ...
were responsible for the department: * Adam Ingram (2000) * Angela Smith (2002–03) *
John Spellar John Francis Spellar, Baron Spellar, (born 5 August 1947), is a British politician who served as Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Warley (UK Parliament constituency), Warley, formerly Warley West, from 1992 ...
(2003–05) *
Shaun Woodward Shaun Anthony Woodward (born 26 October 1958) is a British politician who served as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland from 2007 to 2010. A former television researcher and producer, Woodward began his political career in the Conservativ ...
(2005–06) * David Cairns (2006–07)


See also

*
Committee for Infrastructure The Committee for Infrastructure is a Northern Ireland Assembly committee established to advise, assist and scrutinise the work of the Department for Infrastructure (Northern Ireland), Department for Infrastructure and the Minister for Infrastruc ...


References


Notes


External links


DRD
*  
Traffic Watch Northern Ireland
{{Northern Ireland Executive Northern Ireland Executive Economy of Northern Ireland Transport in Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...
2016 establishments in Northern Ireland Government agencies established in 2016