Derry Council to question Mobuoy repair team after £700m cost suggested as a possibility

Derry and Strabane Council will put pressure on the Mobuoy Remediation Project Team to confirm how cost estimates were reached amid controversy over figures being put as high as £700m.

The figure featured in the 2022/23 accounts for the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA), which estimates costs between £17m and £700m for various strategies. The most 'reliable' estimate is put at £107m.

Cllr Raymond Barr brought the motion to the full council meeting on 28 February, seeking clarification on the proposed options.

“I'm sure we have all heard the most recent news this week in relation to the potential cleanup costs. I have written to the Mobuoy Remediation Team now twice seeking basic information about how officials have scored costs in each potential option,” the Independent councillor said.

“On 22 January, I received the most recent response that outlined that the remediation specialists do not require quantitative or calculated figures and estimates in order to complete their qualitative comparison between the various remediation options.

“In essence, officials are officially now informing us that they did not use any figures or data to determine how they scored the costs of each remediation option for each zone on the Mobuoy site.”

The motion proposed that Council write to Dr Richard Crowe and Claire O’Neill of the Mobuoy Remediation Project Team and ask them to either answer questions or confirm that they do not hold the information required to answer.

Councillor Alex Duffy proposed an amendment to have the pair present to Council and answer the questions directly.

“Being from the area, it is a very concerning ongoing issue for the people of the Faughan DEA and living very close to it as well, I've been involved in the campaigning for it,” the Sinn Féin Cllr said.

“While we agree with Cllr Barr that these questions need to be asked and more importantly they need to be answered, it should be us as members representing our constituents who lead this effort and not directed by a private entity.

“It concerns us that a private consultant is attempting to influence the decisions of this council. This matter pertains to this council, its members, and its constituents not a private entity.”

The motion and amendment passed unanimously.

The comptroller and auditor general to the Assembly stated in a note in DAERA’s annual accounts that if the 'reliable' estimate had been used it would have resulted in a departmental overspend.

“The estimated costs of implementing the various options range from £17m to £700m, with the preferred option being £107m. On that basis, £107m is deemed to be a reliable estimate of the potential costs of remediation," they wrote.

“DAERA has accounted for provisions to the value of £1.13m in its financial statements of which £418k relates to annual maintenance of the Mobuoy site. DAERA has chosen not to adjust the quantum of its provisions in the financial statements to reflect the £107m estimated cost of remediation of the Mobuoy site.”

“The result is that the provisions figure in the Statement of Financial Position is materially understated, as is the net operating expenditure figure in the Statement of Comprehensive Net Expenditure and the £17.33m underspend against the Annually Managed Expenditure (AME) budget figure in the Statement of Outturn against Assembly Supply. In addition, a contingent liability has been disclosed in the notes to the financial statements when the conditions for doing so are no longer met.

“Had the above adjustments been made by DAERA, the Department would have overspent its AME budget by approximately £89.67m for the year ended 31 March 2023, thereby breaching the amount approved by the NI Assembly in its supply estimate. As a result, the amount by which expenditure would have exceeded budget would not have been approved and would have been deemed to be irregular.”

DAERA responded in the document that it 'will reassess the Mobuoy position in accordance with IAS 37 when completing the Departmental group financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2024.'