This morning (October 13) the Northern Ireland Assembly heard of a 600% increase in the amount of pothole-related claims in the last five years, resulting in a mammoth £4.4 million public liability spend.
During a Plenary Session, DUP MLA for Newry and Armagh, Gareth Wilson rose to address the figures and to call on the Infrastructure Minister to “get to grips with what is becoming a spiralling issue in her borough”.
So longstanding is the road condition issue, that the MLA said “no one who travels our roads needs to be convinced of the serious problem”.
While every road user will be aware of the obvious and multitudinous defects, Wilson asserted that what he found to be the most “concerning” issue was the Department’s own statistics which reveal the striking increase in pothole-related claims.
According to the MLAs information, claims made in relation to potholes has risen from 237 in 2021/22 by over 600% to 1687 in 2025/26.
What he regarded as the “most startling figure of all” was that more than one in four of those claims made during the last financial year came from the Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon area alone.
To this, Wilson said “consequences extend far beyond frustration”.
Over the last five years, the MLA informed members that public liability claim expenditure has exceeded £4.4 million across the ABC East and West Roads Division.
This money, he urged, comes from the “public purse”.
The MLA argued that this multi-million pound expenditure could be “better directed” towards improving public services and investing in infrastructure.
While the many years of underinvestment, predating the current Infrastructure Minsiter’s tenure, are clear, the MLA challenged Minister Kimmins’ stance, proferring, “The Minister cannot simply point to historic difficulties while conditions continue to worsen under her watch.”
Speaking to knowledge of his own constituents difficulties and complaints, Wilson said he was aware of motorists who had been “left stranded by the side of the road” after encountering dangerous defects.
Another he said had been forced to pay £7,000 to repair damage caused to their vehicle.
This, to Wilson, is so much more unacceptable given that those same motorists may have repeatedly logged the defect on the Department’s own reporting system.
Concluding, Wilson said “£4.4 million would fix a lot of roads”, he urged the Infrastructure Minister to “get to grips with what is a sprialling issue in her borough”.
