Establishing an Independent Environmental Protection Agency

Division held on 10 November 2025. The Motion Was Carried

Decision type: Simple Majority
Method: Lobby Division
Result: The Motion Was Carried
Debate: Independent Environmental Protection Agency: Establishment

Official Assembly record of this division Official Report of the debate

The motion voted on

Motion (Private Members' Motion): Establishing an Independent Environmental Protection Agency

That this Assembly notes the findings of the Independent Review of Environmental Governance in Northern Ireland, which identified that environmental pressures, including the crisis in Lough Neagh, reflect serious weaknesses in governance and accountability; agrees with the Review’s findings that the absence of a new model of environmental governance is undermining public trust, compliance and the delivery of environmental outcomes; and calls on the Executive to bring forward and pass legislation to establish an Environmental Protection Agency, properly resourced and operationally independent, before the end of this mandate.

The motion has not been assessed yet.

Tabled by: Mr Matthew O'Toole

Totals

Votes by community designation, as published
Designation	Ayes	Noes
Nationalist	27	0
Unionist	4	21
Other	13	0
Total	44	21

How each MLA voted

Alliance Party: 13 Aye, 0 No
MLA	Vote	Designation
Ms Kellie Armstrong	Aye	Other
Mr John Blair	Aye	Other
Ms Paula Bradshaw	Aye	Other
Mr Stewart Dickson	Aye	Other
Mr Danny Donnelly	Aye	Other
Mrs Michelle Guy	Aye	Other
Mr David Honeyford	Aye	Other
Miss Nuala McAllister	Aye	Other
Mr Andrew McMurray	Aye	Other
Mr Nick Mathison	Aye	Other
Mr Andrew Muir	Aye	Other
Ms Sian Mulholland	Aye	Other
Mr Eóin Tennyson	Aye	Other

Democratic Unionist Party: 0 Aye, 21 No
MLA	Vote	Designation
Mr Phillip Brett	No	Unionist
Mr David Brooks	No	Unionist
Ms Cheryl Brownlee	No	Unionist
Mr Keith Buchanan	No	Unionist
Mr Tom Buchanan	No	Unionist
Mr Jonathan Buckley	No	Unionist
Mrs Pam Cameron	No	Unionist
Mr Trevor Clarke	No	Unionist
Mrs Diane Dodds	No	Unionist
Mrs Deborah Erskine	No	Unionist
Ms Diane Forsythe	No	Unionist
Mr Paul Frew	No	Unionist
Mr Harry Harvey	No	Unionist
Mr William Irwin	No	Unionist
Mr Brian Kingston	No	Unionist
Mrs Emma Little-Pengelly	No	Unionist
Mr Gordon Lyons	No	Unionist
Miss Michelle McIlveen	No	Unionist
Mr Peter Martin	No	Unionist
Mr Gary Middleton	No	Unionist
Mr Alan Robinson	No	Unionist

Sinn Féin: 20 Aye, 0 No
MLA	Vote	Designation
Mr Danny Baker	Aye	Nationalist
Mr Cathal Boylan	Aye	Nationalist
Mr Pádraig Delargy	Aye	Nationalist
Miss Jemma Dolan	Aye	Nationalist
Mrs Sinéad Ennis	Aye	Nationalist
Mrs Ciara Ferguson	Aye	Nationalist
Ms Aoife Finnegan	Aye	Nationalist
Miss Órlaithí Flynn	Aye	Nationalist
Mr Colm Gildernew	Aye	Nationalist
Miss Deirdre Hargey	Aye	Nationalist
Mr Declan Kearney	Aye	Nationalist
Mr Gerry Kelly	Aye	Nationalist
Mr Declan McAleer	Aye	Nationalist
Mr Maolíosa McHugh	Aye	Nationalist
Mrs Cathy Mason	Aye	Nationalist
Miss Áine Murphy	Aye	Nationalist
Ms Carál Ní Chuilín	Aye	Nationalist
Mr John O'Dowd	Aye	Nationalist
Ms Aisling Reilly	Aye	Nationalist
Mr Pat Sheehan	Aye	Nationalist

Social Democratic and Labour Party: 7 Aye, 0 No
MLA	Vote	Designation
Mr Mark Durkan	Aye	Nationalist
Ms Cara Hunter	Aye	Nationalist
Mr Daniel McCrossan	Aye	Nationalist
Mr Patsy McGlone	Aye	Nationalist
Mr Colin McGrath	Aye	Nationalist
Ms Sinéad McLaughlin	Aye	Nationalist
Mr Matthew O'Toole	Aye	Nationalist

Ulster Unionist Party: 4 Aye, 0 No
MLA	Vote	Designation
Mr Jon Burrows	Aye	Unionist
Mr Robbie Butler	Aye	Unionist
Mr Alan Chambers	Aye	Unionist
Mr Mike Nesbitt	Aye	Unionist

MLAs who did not vote are not listed. Download these votes (CSV)