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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.
I thank the Member for his supplementary question. There are strong merits to pursuing a ban. I want to engage with stakeholders in the coming weeks and months to get a clear position on our plan to take forward legislation in this mandate. The Member raises an important issue, and there is a strong justification for…
My Department's code of practice for the welfare of dogs recommends that only positive, reward-based training be used and that potentially painful or frightening training methods, such as e-collars, be avoided. In that context, I am aware of the merits of banning such devices and am keen to explore how that can be…
I thank the Member for her question. The safety of drinking water is paramount, so she asks an important question. Safeguarding public health, ensuring safe drinking water and reducing the environmental impact of that crime are, as I said, paramount. My Department is committed, in partnership with Northern Ireland…
I thank the Member for his question. It is a key issue, and the potential costs have concerned me. To date, my Department does not have a cost estimate that has been assessed and approved through the required public finance processes and an approved business case. There are several reasons for that, and it is…
I thank the Member for her question. I am aware of other sites in Northern Ireland. The issue of environmental crime, particularly waste crime, is something that I take seriously. I have engaged with colleagues on how we can better ensure that we practise the "polluter pays principle" and secure proper outcomes from…
I thank the Member for her question. I understand the urgency to act on this matter, for many reasons, including in relation to the A6. I have briefly spoken to the Infrastructure Minister about it, and I continue to engage with him. There are other reasons for that as well: it is a site where an environmental crime…
I wish to highlight from the outset that my Department remains fully committed to pursuing the perpetrators of this environmental crime through ongoing criminal proceedings, including ensuring that the polluter pays through confiscation under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002. Safeguarding public health, assuring safe…
Thank you very much, Mr Deputy Speaker. This has been a clear and useful debate, and I thank the Members who brought the issue to the House for discussion. I fully recognise the economic significance of the agriculture industry in Northern Ireland, and I wholeheartedly agree that investment in new and replacement farm…
I thank the Member for his question. Rural development was discussed at the NSMC, and I also discussed it with one of the junior Ministers on St Patrick's Day in Brussels. There is a real opportunity to take learnings from what the South has done and use those to help shape rural affairs policy in the North. I will…
With your permission, Mr Deputy Speaker, I wish to make a statement in compliance with section 52 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998 regarding the twenty-eighth North/South Ministerial Council (NSMC) agriculture meeting, which was held in the NSMC joint secretariat offices, Armagh, on Wednesday 29 May 2024. Junior…
The draft Fisheries Act 2020 (Scheme for Financial Assistance) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2024 That the draft Fisheries Act 2020 (Scheme for Financial Assistance) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2024 be approved.
Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. I thank Mr Elliott for starting the debate and for his constructive comments. I am very aware of the concerns about this area, which are raised regularly with me and are very much on my agenda and on the agenda of many people here in Northern Ireland. I commend the work that was done in…
I thank all the Members who contributed to the debate. It has been wide-ranging, and good points have been made, which really highlights the importance of animal welfare to not just us but our constituents. It is my hope that the legislation will be introduced for our constituents who are animal lovers, so that we…
I beg to move I am grateful for the opportunity to move the motion and speak about the Pet Abduction Bill, which creates new offences of abduction of dogs and cats. The Pet Abduction Bill is a private Member's Bill supported by the UK Government that is currently progressing through Parliament. It applies to England…
I thank the Member for his question. Thus far, I have not talked about that, and it is an important opportunity to outline my views. It particularly relates to our future rural development policy and how we support rural communities. It is also mainstreamed to ensure that staff and advisers who engage in the time…
Everyone is being creative with their questions. Sometimes, there are three or four in one. The Principal Deputy Speaker is showing amazing patience. I will start with the role of women in agriculture. The legacy report that the Committee produced in the last mandate was increasingly useful. I followed up on it on my…
Thank you, Madam Principal Deputy Speaker, for the opportunity to make a statement to the Assembly on the farm support and development programme. As the Balmoral show is opening tomorrow, I felt that it was important to update the Assembly on future farm support. At the outset, however, I want to express my thanks and…
Does the Member agree that none of us wants to set up something that will be ineffective or massively costly? We want to set up something that will do the job. That is the focus. Now that the scoping work on environmental governance has been done, it is right that we move to the next stage, which is looking at the way…
Thank you, Madam Principal Deputy Speaker, and thanks to all those who contributed to the debate. I have quite a lot to cover in the response, so the number of interventions that I will be able to take is limited, but it is important that I respond in detail. The motion, essentially, has three specific components:…
In a recall motion, the ability to take action on this was not there. It is in having restored institutions that we have the ability to debate the motions, have Ministers in post and progress legislation. That is what we wanted to achieve. I think it is what we all wanted to achieve.
The legislation as it sits does give powers for action. I encourage anyone who is aware of any incidents of animal cruelty to report them to allow for investigation. It is key that we do that. We have fallen behind in a number of areas, and one that we talked about earlier was Lucy's law, which I want to bring up to…
The Executive will shortly publish their legislative programme. That will be for this calendar year. I have a desire to do other legislation over the next number of years, including, I hope, primary legislation on animal welfare. We need to look at the powers of government to deal with these issues, and I am happy to…