DFP Statement on power in the Stormont Estate

Finance Minister Sammy Wilson who has responsibility for the Stormont Estate has said there has been a number of Government buildings within the estate which have encountered a total loss of power following the severe and heavy flooding on Wednesday night.

Dundonald House and Craigantlet Buildings are both closed. The remaining buildings within the Stormont Estate including Parliament Buildings continue to operate on a limited power supply. All business areas affected have initiated their business continuity plans to ensure that essential functions and services are maintained.

Sammy Wilson said: “The situation is being closely monitored and Northern Ireland Electricity are assisting my Department to resolve this situation as quickly as possible. Engineers have been and will continue to be on site over the weekend.”

The Departments affected by the closure are the Department of Finance and Personnel, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development and Prison Service Headquarters.

The Minister said: “I would like to take this opportunity to assure the public that all essential services provided by these Departments remain unaffected as alternative arrangements have been made and business continues as normal.” 

For media enquiries please contact the Duty Press Officer via pager number 07699 715 440 and your call will be returned.

Latest update from TrafficWatch NI

• Stockmans Lane - closed under Flyover.
• Knock Road, closed between Castlereagh Road and Shandon Park.
• Upper Knockbreda Road / Cregagh Road. Road closed.
• Finaghy Road North closed at M1 Bridge.
• Hillhall Road. Reported as closed.
• Stewartstown Road / Twinbrook Road. Reported as closed.
• Castlereagh Road / Loopland Park. Road closed.
• Milltown Road / Belvoir Road. Passable with care.
• Stockmans Lane under M1 Bridge. Passable with care.
• Blacks Road under M1 Bridge. Passable with care.
• Milltown Road / Belvoir Road. Passable with care.
• Prince William Road / Lisburn North Feeder Road. Passable with care.

Government Agencies respond to Northern Ireland Floods

Government Agencies have been working together this evening to address the severe flooding which has been primarily across the Belfast area.


Roads Service has brought in extra staff in the Belfast area and staff from other areas within Roads Service to work alongside staff from other Agencies.


The heaviest of the rain is expected to pass over the Province this evening but the Met Office has issued a further amber weather warning valid from 04:00 to 21:00 on Thursday 28 June. There are expected to be further slow moving torrential downpours tomorrow afternoon and further flooding can be expected.


Motorists are advised to exercise extreme caution especially tomorrow morning as the clean-up gets underway.


Customers may have experienced some problems with the Flooding Incident Helpline. This was caused by the severity of the rain storms and the high volume of calls. Additional resources have been brought in overnight to deal with the situation.


List of affected areas


It is understood the areas affected in Belfast included:

• Stockmans Lane - closed under Flyover.
• Knock Road, closed between Castlereagh Road and Shandon Park.
• Upper Knockbreda Road / Cregagh Road. Road closed.
• Finaghy Road North closed at M1 Bridge.
• Hillhall Road. Reported as closed.
• Stewartstown Road / Twinbrook Road. Reported as closed.
• Castlereagh Road / Loopland Park. Road closed.
• Milltown Road / Belvoir Road. Passable with care.
• Stockmans Lane under M1 Bridge. Passable with care.
• Blacks Road under M1 Bridge. Passable with care.
• Milltown Road / Belvoir Road. Passable with care.
• Prince William Road / Lisburn North Feeder Road. Passable with care.

Advice on dealing with flooding

• Report flooding in your area using the Flooding Incident Line  0300 2000 100.
• Visit nidirect for practical advice on how to deal with flooding at www.nidirect.gov.uk/flooding-in-your-area

Submit your question directly to the Education Minister via Twitter

Education Minister John O’Dowd will be live on Twitter at 11.30am on Thursday 28 June answering your questions.

You can submit your question now via the hashtag #AskDE. The Minister will respond to as many education-related questions as time permits via the @niexecutive Twitter feed.

If you are not able to be online at 11.30am on Thursday to see the responses live, don’t worry. All responses will remain on the @niexecutive timeline and under the hashtag #AskDE. A full transcript will also be published on this blog.

So if you have a question for the Minister, please do submit it via #AskDE and the Minister will do his best to respond.

Users should submit no more than two questions each. This will enable as many people as possible to have a chance to take part and have their query answered.

You can also submit your question in Irish. Any Irish tweets that the Minister is able to cover in the hour available will be answered in Irish. These tweets will be translated into English in the transcript that will be posted here after the Q&A has finished.

The Minister will respond to as many tweets as possible in the time available. If your particular tweet is not responded to, it may be the case that the topic is covered by a different response, so do please read them all.