Want Potholes Fixed? Stop Bombarding Government Departments with Questions!

Have you any idea how many questions the Department for Infrastructure is asked each year? The answer is probably tens of thousands. The number of emails, phone calls, Freedom of Information requests, complaints, and general enquiries is endless.

How can these departments possibly get any work done when so much of their officers’ time is spent responding to numerous—and often repetitive—queries, instead of getting on with fixing the potholes in our disintegrating roads, or approving planning applications for new housing schemes or factories?

And before you ask: how is the department meant to know where these potholes are if we don’t report them? There is already an online DfI website where potholes and road defects can be reported automatically. There is no need to phone or email your local roads department.

Elected members in our councils and the NI Assembly can’t escape criticism either (and I should know, as I used to be a councillor!). The deluge of correspondence coming from our elected representatives would win a prize for the sheer volume of emails and phone calls.

I suspect that no one really thinks about this. After all, when we personally have a problem, it’s just one query or one complaint that we are lodging (or, in some cases, a few at a time), and that couldn’t possibly take up much time from our well-paid and numerous civil servants.

However, the reality is quite different. The combined burden of these phone calls, emails, and letters takes up an enormous amount of officers’ time. I am allowed to say this, as I don’t work for a council or government department, but I feel compelled to champion their cause.

Another issue is the volume of Freedom of Information (FOI) requests submitted in Northern Ireland. I don’t have exact figures, but if it’s anything like the number of general queries, I am quite sure the total is astronomical.

Of course, the FOI system is an important tool for holding departments and individual officers accountable. But if it is overused or abused, it becomes counterproductive in terms of getting things done—whether in your local community or across the wider economy.

During my time as a councillor, I attended many briefings from senior officers in various departments. The consistent message was that they were struggling to cope with the volume of day-to-day correspondence, which was often preventing staff from delivering key services.

I also have a vested interest. As a Chartered Civil Engineer, I rely on approval engineers and various departments to review my designs promptly and respond quickly to help speed up the planning process. I have real sympathy for staff who are often splitting their time in multiple directions.

I never thought I would write an article championing civil servants’ workload and making the case on their behalf. But we should give them a break for once and support them in carrying out the key functions of their roles.

And don’t get me started on our insurance and claims culture in Northern Ireland—that’s a whole other subject for another time!

So, in summary: if you want departments at Stormont to fix your potholes faster, want your refuse collected more efficiently, or want to reduce your council rates, stop complaining so much—and stop asking departments so many questions!