Debate contribution: Independent Environmental Protection Agency: Establishment

Debate contribution by Mr Daniel McCrossan on 10 November 2025.

MLA

Mr Daniel McCrossan

Party at the time

Social Democratic and Labour Party

Date

10 November 2025

Type

Debate contribution

Business

Opposition Business

Heading

Independent Environmental Protection Agency: Establishment

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 5225240

Read the official Assembly record

Text

I beg to move

The motion before the Assembly is both clear and necessary. After more than 10 years of warnings, reviews, reports and unfulfilled commitments, we ask the House to agree that Northern Ireland must now legislate to establish a properly resourced and operationally independent environmental protection agency (EPA) before the end of the mandate. The proposal is not new, and it is clearly not controversial. It is the natural next step in a discussion that has been ongoing for many years but has rarely been matched by decisive action. For too long, our political system has acknowledged the problem and even identified the solutions yet has struggled to follow through. Northern Ireland is currently operating with an environmental governance system that is no longer fit for purpose. It does not adequately protect water quality; it struggles to ensure compliance with environmental standards; and it lacks the level of oversight and enforcement that the public expect from a modern regulatory framework. Ultimately, it fails to give people confidence that serious environmental issues are being handled with the urgency and authority required. The independent review of environmental governance that the Minister commissioned earlier this year set out the scale of the challenges with absolute clarity. It identified persistent weaknesses in how environmental responsibilities are structured, managed, overseen and, indeed, enforced. It also made an unavoidable connection between those weaknesses and the environmental pressures now confronting us, including the crisis at Lough Neagh. The review confirmed that earlier evaluations had also found that the present arrangements are not designed to meet either current environmental needs or the more demanding challenges that lie ahead. That is not an isolated observation. It sits alongside a long sequence of similar findings that stretches back to the original review that was held in 2011. Assembly Committees have raised the issue repeatedly, and the New Decade, New Approach (NDNA) agreement explicitly committed all parties to the creation of an independent environmental protection agency. Scientists, councils, community groups and environmental organisations have warned for years that, without structural reform, the system will continue to fall short, yet progress has moved at a pace that does not reflect the seriousness of the situation. The consequences of that inaction can now be seen across Northern Ireland. The images of Lough Neagh last summer and, indeed, in the years before that under dense, toxic algae blooms were not only alarming but deeply symbolic of a system that has been allowed to drift for too long. Only a modest proportion of our rivers achieve good ecological status, and untreated or partially treated waste water continues to enter waterways at levels that are simply not acceptable. That, combined with the chronic under-resourcing of enforcement and the complex, fragmented governance structure, is clearly how we have arrived at this point. The issues are not abstract or distant. Poor environmental management has direct consequences for public health, particularly in drinking water safety and for those who live, work and spend time near the affected areas. It has a direct effect on the rural economy, including tourism, angling, agriculture, small businesses and hospitality. It carries real reputational risks for our agri-food industry, which relies on high environmental standards for market access and, indeed, consumer trust. It threatens the future of our natural heritage: the rivers, lakes and landscapes that form a central part of our identity. Perhaps the most corrosive consequence has been the damage to public trust. When communities see Lough Neagh in crisis, they ask who was responsible for preventing it. When rivers decline, they ask, "Who enforces the rules?", and, when pollution incidents occur, they ask, "Who will be held to account?". Too often, there is no clear answer, and, in the gap, confidence is eroded further. Farmers feel targeted and misunderstood,; communities feel that their concerns go unanswered; and environmental groups feel that their warnings are left without meaningful responses. Many feel powerless as they watch long-term decline take place in real time. The question before us, therefore, is not whether a problem exists but what the Executive intend to do to resolve it. That is why establishing an independent environmental agency is vital. The view across independent reviews is consistent: Northern Ireland requires a regulator that is structurally independent of political Departments, that can take decisions based on scientific evidence, that can enforce compliance robustly and fairly and that has the resources and statutory powers to carry out its functions effectively. All parties in the Executive have accepted that principle. In 'New Decade, New Approach', every party committed to the creation of an independent environmental protection agency. That was not externally imposed but collectively agreed — there were no opt-outs or qualifications — yet, five years later, the commitment remains unfulfilled. We do not have the legislation or the agency, and the problems that an agency was meant to address have continued to worsen. The Minister has stated that he intends to introduce a Bill. That is welcome, but we must be realistic about the time that remains in the mandate, which is less than 18 months. The work must begin immediately, or it will not be completed. Further delay would result in yet another missed opportunity, and the consequences for the environment would be significant. We have frequently heard in the Chamber references to the debates on the Climate Change (No. 2) Bill in 2022, so I will briefly address that. During that process, the Alliance Party tabled an amendment to create an independent office of climate change and environmental protection. Although that amendment was well intentioned, it was not fit for purpose, as it did not define powers; it did not set out functions or governance and enforcement measures; and it did not explain how that office would interact with existing institutions. It was, in essence, an undefined concept grafted on to legislation that was never designed for that purpose. The SDLP has always backed the principle of an independent environmental protection agency as set out in 'New Decade, New Approach', but what was presented there was not delivered. Here we are, in late 2025, with no progress. The Minister who criticised that decision is the same Minister who still has not delivered an environmental protection agency, despite the fact that the amendment that he cited said that one should already be in operation.

I thank Mr Tennyson for that intervention. Our point is that, in effect, the proposal had no teeth. That was our main point of concern. Equally, we see countless reviews proposed in this place, with little delivery as a result. Minister, give Northern Ireland the independent environmental protection agency that it was promised and that is so urgently needed. Since I expect the debates on the Climate Change Bill to be referred to in the debate, as they have been on so many recent occasions in the Chamber, including by Mr Tennyson today, I will say that it is vital that we do all that is in our power to bring about that important agency. The suggestions by the Alliance Party attempted to place an undefined concept in legislation that was not designed for that purpose. As I said, we are now in 2025, and the Minister has not delivered what he promised. Public trust must be rebuilt. Communities must feel that their concerns are being taken seriously. Farmers really need assurance that enforcement is proportionate and based on evidence. Environmental organisations must know that expert warnings will not be dismissed. The Assembly must have confidence that environmental decisions will be made impartially and transparently. Creating an independent environmental protection agency will not provide immediate answers to every challenge, but it will put in place the essential foundation for serious environmental governance. It will create institutional clarity. It will strengthen enforcement, ensure that decisions are not influenced by undue political pressure and provide the accountability and structure necessary for effective, long-term improvement. It will allow the Department to focus on policy and strategy while the regulator concentrates on compliance and enforcement. It will provide the Assembly with the confidence that environmental matters are being handled with independence and competence. It will place Northern Ireland on a modern footing comparable with the arrangements that have existed in other parts of Britain and Ireland. There is now no credible reason to resist the change. Independent review supports it; experts recommend it; all Executive parties have previously endorsed it; and the public expect it. The alternative is further deterioration, growing public frustration and a continuation of the uncertainty that has characterised environmental oversight —

— for far too long. I commend the motion to the House.

1,439 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Assessment

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Assessed 21 October 2026 at 13:43 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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