Debate contribution: Lithium Ion Batteries
Debate contribution by Mr Andrew Muir on .
- MLA
- Mr Andrew Muir
- Party at the time
- Alliance Party
- Date
- 28 September 2026
- Type
- Debate contribution (made as a minister)
- Business
- Oral Answers to Questions
- Heading
- Lithium Ion Batteries
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 5762291
Read the official Assembly record
Text
I thank the Member for his question. I can give him an assurance that there will be maximum transparency within the law. As he probably recognises, when it comes to any enforcement cases, we have a process to follow, but the default position is transparency. As the Member is aware, that was the second large fire at the Clearway site for which lithium ion batteries were believed to have been the cause. The fire at Clearway was notified to NIEA on 2 September. NIEA officers attended the site in liaison with our partner agencies. That and other licensed waste management facilities that are regulated by NIEA are required to implement appropriate fire measures, including the development and maintenance of a fire action plan, as part of their authorisation conditions.
The NIEA works with the industry and the emergency services to promote best practice, and it keeps regulatory arrangements under ongoing review. Furthermore, the NIEA continues to engage with individual operators to ensure that appropriate controls are in place and that emerging risks are identified and addressed at an early stage through updated fire action and site-working plans.
187 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
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