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Mr Andrew Muir: Assembly records
All of Mr Andrew Muir’s imported questions, contributions and motions in this mandate, newest first, including those assessed as not flagged, uncertain or not yet analysed.
The issue of bovine TB is serious and causes me concern, not primarily in a financial sense, although it is a real factor in the pressures on my Department. The concern that I have is about the mental health impact that it has on farmers. A TB breakdown has a significant impact on a family business, so we need to take…
I thank the Member for his question. That report has been received, and I have read it. We have shared it with former members of the TB Eradication Partnership (TBEP), as far as I am aware. I will double-check whether they have received it. I am happy to share it with the AERA Committee, if that would be appropriate…
I will. That is an important issue. Unfortunately, a number of my friends took their own lives. In some cases, that was due to societal attitudes in Northern Ireland towards LGBT people. It is important that we send out a message from this place that you are not alone and that you should reach out and speak to people…
I thank the Member for his important question. The tackling rural poverty and social isolation framework, otherwise known as the "TRPSI framework", has been in operation since 2016. It includes initiatives that address loneliness and improve physical and mental health and well-being. The farm families health checks…
We have earmarked funding. The total earmarked funding, which includes agriculture and fisheries, is about £330 million, and that is largely resource funding. I am making the case that we should have separate capital funding. Also, I have made the case that the earmarked funding, which was guaranteed until the end of…
I agree 100%, and that is what we need to do. I am passionate about a just transition in agriculture. We need to ensure that the work that we carry out to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and reach net zero will be fair and that we support people on that journey. That is why we need to provide those incentives and…
I work closely with the Department for the Economy on the small business research initiative. I had a meeting with Conor Murphy yesterday. We work together closely in those areas and share a common desire to reach net zero in a just and fair manner. A good bit of that sits with me to take forward, and I will make…
There are a number of issues around that. We will start consultation soon on the regulations that will establish the just transition commission. We will then make the regulations and establish the commission next year. That is important. Another issue is the just transition fund for agriculture. As I outlined earlier…
The Welfare of Animals Act (Northern Ireland) 2011 is the foundation on which statutory bodies, including councils, the PSNI and my Department, carry out their duties to improve animal welfare. It is robust legislation that provides a range of powers for dealing with animal welfare cases, including being proactive in…
The review and consultation on fines and penalties associated with environmental crime is really important. It will cover waste crime, because I am concerned about that. Officials are working on taking that forward, and when we launch the consultation, I encourage everyone to respond to it.
There is a commitment from me to address the issue within the financial resources that are available to me. That is the challenge, because, as the Member knows, the cost of remediation could be substantial. I am glad that the Programme for Government was launched for consultation yesterday, and I encourage all in the…
What occurred in the past at Mobuoy is a complete disgrace. Although I will continue to pursue the issue of the "polluter pays principle", what is happening is that the public sector and the people of Northern Ireland are having to pick up the tab for looking at remediation, and that is not lost on me. I am therefore…
My Department is continuing to progress work in relation to monitoring the site, pursuing a criminal justice outcome against the former operators and determining the best approach for remediation through an industry standard process. A draft remediation strategy has been developed, in line with industry standards, for…
It is a bit of a pivot from single-use plastics but it is an important issue. One of the main issues for which Harvey Milk got elected as the first openly gay parliamentarian in America was dog fouling. All politics is local. I am happy to consider the issue if the Member writes to me. I have no immediate plans for…
My Department introduced new carrier bag legislation in April 2022, which increased the carrier bag levy charge from 5p to 25p and extended the scope to include all new carrier bags with a retail price of £5 or less. The primary objective remains to protect our environment by influencing consumer behaviour and…
I am committed to taking action to restrict the consumption of a range of single-use plastic products where sustainable alternatives are easily available and affordable. This includes transposing the single-use plastics directive. The primary objective of the single-use plastics directive is to protect our…
We are working through that with officials so that I can give you a correct answer. I have some estimates that I have worked out myself, but I want to engage with officials so that I can give you a substantial response. A significant range of actions need to be taken. The investment required in waste water…
The environmental improvement plan will be Northern Ireland's first environment strategy. There was a legal obligation for that to be adopted in July 2023. After taking office in February, I brought that plan to the Executive in March, and I will continue to engage with Executive colleagues to secure its adoption.…
I will be meeting fishers from Lough Neagh tomorrow around that. I am very aware of the challenges around inland fisheries in Lough Neagh and the pressures that they have been under. I have engaged with officials. There are a number of issues arising from that, particularly around availability of funding and the…
Following the Executive’s approval of the Lough Neagh report and action plan on 18 July, the focus has turned to implementation of the actions. Good progress has been made on a number of the actions, including, for example, the development of a Lough Neagh science platform, the launch of two small business research…
I enjoyed my day in Larne, and I was up in Glenarm as well. It is a great constituency to visit. The Paws for Thought initiative is a key intervention, and we are all working together to tackle smuggling. I will highlight that, as part of that initiative, we will communicate with the general public to make them…
On the second question, I am happy for you to send me through details of that. We will consider that based on diary availability. On the first question, it is for councils in Northern Ireland to enforce that. If there are concerns around that, I am happy for the Member to write to me raising those concerns. We do seek…
I thank the Member for her question. When we are designing legislation and policy around animal welfare, we need to be very conscious of the issue that she has outlined about people's ability to navigate the legislation and create loopholes around it all. That is why it is important that, when we are developing it, we…
I would like to highlight the robust legislation that Northern Ireland already has in place to regulate commercial dog-breeding establishments. The Welfare of Animals (Dog Breeding Establishments and Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2013 empower councils to license and inspect potential or…