The Office for Environmental Protection (OEP) is investigating Northern Ireland’s Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) over an alleged failure to comply with environmental law by not adopting its first Environmental Improvement Plan (EIP).
The plan, which was due to be laid before the Northern Ireland Assembly and published by 25 July 2023, is a legal requirement under the Environment Act 2021. It was brought before the Northern Ireland Executive by DAERA minister Andrew Muir earlier this year but has yet to be agreed.
Natalie Prosser, OEP chief executive, said: “Publishing the EIP is not simply a matter of lawfulness and good governance, although that is important. The EIP is essential for transparency over the steps government intends to take that will tackle the environmental challenges facing Northern Ireland, and for driving delivery of those steps. It should provide a roadmap to how Northern Ireland’s environment is to be significantly improved.”
She added: “We know when it comes to the environment that time is not on our side. The recent issues seen at Lough Neagh highlight the need for urgent action to protect the environment. The EIP is a vital part of that, and delays to its publication and implementation must be kept to a minimum.”
In a recent statement to the NI Assembly, Muir confirmed he is awaiting Executive approval for the EIP before it can be published as Northern Ireland's first environment strategy and laid in the Assembly. He said a Lough Neagh report was also under Executive consideration, and therefore could not yet be published. But he provided an overview of four pillars of action planned to tackle the severe deterioration of water quality in the lough: “The first is education: empowering knowledge and skills, and encouraging best practice. The second is incentivisation: investment and innovation aimed at motivating and funding actions that will drive the adoption of behavioural change. The third is regulation: our statutory obligation to protect the quality of our water. The last is, importantly, enforcement: taking strong and meaningful action when compliance with regulation fails.”
He provided more detail on the 20 of the 37 actions in the plan that fall under his department’s remit, including a review of the Nutrients Action Programme. He hoped to work with other departments, particularly Infrastructure and Justice, to agree the remaining items. Muir shared: “I hope that we can agree it, because it is important that, as an Executive, we work together and deliver those actions collaboratively. A key thing that stakeholders say to me is that they want a joined-up approach.”
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