To ask the Minister for Infrastructure whether her Department could facilitate automatic updates on fault reports, on its fault reporting software on the website.

My Department receives approximately 90,000 road faults and 60,000 lighting faults annually. The system for reporting such faults was first introduced by the Department in 2015 and is now available for members of the public to report instances directly using this online system or via the NI Direct contact centre.

When a fault is reported, the customer receives an automated acknowledgement email which provides an indication of the priority of the fault. The customer is also provided with a webpage link and reference number to facilitate the tracking of the fault.

Customers can also use this link to identify the status of the fault, any results of investigation and where possible an indication of the timescale for repair.

Whilst officials will keep any potential updates to the system that could improve the process under review, there are currently no plans to change the tracking system at this time.