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6 January 2011
Last updated at 17:55 ET
The executive has agreed to appoint two people to scrutinise the role of the Department of Regional Development in the recent water crisis.
The Regional Development Minister, Conor Murphy, had already asked the utility regulator to investigate NI Water's performance.
The SDLP criticised that proposal because it would not have the power to probe the minister.
After hours of talks, the executive has agreed to the twin track review.
'Confident'
The development was welcomed by the First Minister Peter Robinson who said that while the regulator had his own statutory duties, there was public concern about the role of the department and the minister "where the regulator might be conflicted".
He added: "It's very clear that we needed to have something more than the regulator looking at this issue and the deputy first minister and I will appoint two individuals."
Mr Murphy, who has faced calls to quit over his role in the crisis, said that he welcomed an additional element to the inquiry.
He added: "I am quite confident about my own role. I am actually confident that I probably overextended my role in going directly to NI Water in terms of their response and that they operationally up their game.
"I am clear about where the operational failures lay but let the report and the investigation look into all of that."
The inquiries are expected to report back with recommendations before the end of February.
Expertise
Earlier the Consumer Council had criticised plans for the utility regulator to carry out an investigation.
The regulator is partially funded by NI Water and the consumer group said that it did not have sufficient independence to carry out the review.
The regulator said such a review was consistent with its statutory duties and powers.
It said that it acted independently to protect consumers "irrespective of political or other considerations" and that it had access to the necessary expertise to conduct the inquiry quickly.
However, the Consumer Council chief executive, Antoinette McKeown, said she had major reservations about the regulator's role, not least because of its own possible role in the crisis.
She added: "It does a very good job but it is part of the very governance framework that Martin McGuinness only last week said needed to be subject to fundamental review.
"The utility regulator has a statutory scrutiny role in relation to the performance of NI Water.
"It sets the monies NI Water should get - that includes the money for investment which has been subject to criticism over the last number of weeks."
'Overwhelmed'
The executive meeting came after senior officials from Northern Ireland Water were grilled by members of Stormont's Regional Development Committee earlier on Thursday.
The chief executive of NI Water during the crisis, Laurence MacKenzie, was absent after he agreed to step down from his role in the early hours of Thursday morning.
The company's director of customer services, Liam Mulholland, told the committee that it had received more than 1m contacts from the public over the Christmas period and that its systems had "simply been overwhelmed".
Around 40,000 homes and businesses were cut off from the mains water supply during the crisis, with NI Water severely criticised for its response to those in need.
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The Regional Development Minister, Conor Murphy, had already asked the utility regulator to investigate NI Water's performance.
The SDLP criticised that proposal because it would not have the power to probe the minister.
After hours of talks, the executive has agreed to the twin track review.
'Confident'
The development was welcomed by the First Minister Peter Robinson who said that while the regulator had his own statutory duties, there was public concern about the role of the department and the minister "where the regulator might be conflicted".
He added: "It's very clear that we needed to have something more than the regulator looking at this issue and the deputy first minister and I will appoint two individuals."
Mr Murphy, who has faced calls to quit over his role in the crisis, said that he welcomed an additional element to the inquiry.
He added: "I am quite confident about my own role. I am actually confident that I probably overextended my role in going directly to NI Water in terms of their response and that they operationally up their game.
"I am clear about where the operational failures lay but let the report and the investigation look into all of that."
The inquiries are expected to report back with recommendations before the end of February.
Expertise
Earlier the Consumer Council had criticised plans for the utility regulator to carry out an investigation.
The regulator is partially funded by NI Water and the consumer group said that it did not have sufficient independence to carry out the review.
The regulator said such a review was consistent with its statutory duties and powers.
It said that it acted independently to protect consumers "irrespective of political or other considerations" and that it had access to the necessary expertise to conduct the inquiry quickly.
However, the Consumer Council chief executive, Antoinette McKeown, said she had major reservations about the regulator's role, not least because of its own possible role in the crisis.
She added: "It does a very good job but it is part of the very governance framework that Martin McGuinness only last week said needed to be subject to fundamental review.
"The utility regulator has a statutory scrutiny role in relation to the performance of NI Water.
"It sets the monies NI Water should get - that includes the money for investment which has been subject to criticism over the last number of weeks."
'Overwhelmed'
The executive meeting came after senior officials from Northern Ireland Water were grilled by members of Stormont's Regional Development Committee earlier on Thursday.
The chief executive of NI Water during the crisis, Laurence MacKenzie, was absent after he agreed to step down from his role in the early hours of Thursday morning.
The company's director of customer services, Liam Mulholland, told the committee that it had received more than 1m contacts from the public over the Christmas period and that its systems had "simply been overwhelmed".
Around 40,000 homes and businesses were cut off from the mains water supply during the crisis, with NI Water severely criticised for its response to those in need.
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