The Chairman of the NI Water is being urged to answer outstanding questions regarding his role during the recent water crisis.

SDLP spokesperson on Regional Development, John Dallat, said Sean Hogan needs to explain why he refused to make himself available to answer any questions that could clarify how he dealt with the issues which led to the recent chaos.

Mr Dallat said: "The company was warned in 2007 that major reform was needed but the directors have clearly ignored the professional advice given to them and we are left in a situation where even the Chief Executive, Sara Venning, hesitated when asked at an emergency meeting of the Regional Development Committee as to who was in charge of the company.

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"This company has a turbulent history of mismanagement which must be addressed and the recent plight of people who found themselves without water clearly shows that all is not well within that organisation and much needs to be done to ensure that the public are not left in the same situation in the future. Likewise its workers have also been the victims of serious management weakness.

"Mr Hogan is the recipient of a £40,000 salary for 4 days work per month and surely that at least entitles the taxpayers to hear his public defence of his leadership and his explanations as to why previous warnings were ignored or not addressed.

"The remaining directors also need to justify their attractive remuneration for attendance at board meetings a few days a year and how their time was spent offering their 'expertise' in their particular field of management direction.

"Unfortunately while people were gathering snow from the roofs of cars to get water there was a game of ping pong going on between the two unionist parties when they should have been focused on the real issues which are the lack of leadership and policy-making within the board of this arms-length body."

(CD/JP)