Debate contribution: Independent Environmental Protection Agency

Debate contribution by Mr Robbie Butler on 10 March 2026.

MLA

Mr Robbie Butler

Party at the time

Ulster Unionist Party

Date

10 March 2026

Type

Debate contribution

Business

Private Members' Business

Heading

Independent Environmental Protection Agency

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 5437098

Read the official Assembly record

Text

Thanks, Mr Gaston, in the corner, for your words of encouragement. I will take them in the manner in which they are probably not intended. I am the Ulster Unionist Party's spokesperson for agriculture, the environment and rural affairs. We may well support the motion. I will get to the detail. We may well support it because we support the creation of an independent environmental body and agency, under certain rigorous circumstances. There has been some good work on that. However, I would like clarity from the motion's sponsors on the last sentence of the motion, which:

"calls on the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland to take meaningful steps to ensure that the commitment in 'New Decade, New Approach' is implemented."

Will they outline how that does not interfere with our current structures, archaic and ugly as they are? The DUP is not the only party in the Chamber that holds vetoes and has used vetoes.

Yes, I will take an intervention.

To be clear, my party would be open to number one but not number two. We would be prepared for the Secretary of State to negotiate with the parties to move things along with the commitments that were made, because allowing the process to move forward is important for the environment. The findings of the independent review of environmental governance were a long time coming. If Members took the time to read them, they would know that they make for difficult reading. However, while we support addressing the blockage in the appropriate way, we do so with significant and clear caveats. Our support should not be interpreted simply as a blank cheque for creating another body or an assumption that structural change alone will solve the challenges that we face. I agree with Miss McIlveen in that sense. The environmental decline of Lough Neagh has become the clearest example of what happens when responsibilities are blurred, enforcement is inconsistent and accountability becomes diluted across multiple organisations. That is precisely why reform is needed, but reform must be carefully designed and not rushed. Northern Ireland already operates within a complex network of organisations with environmental responsibility. The Northern Ireland Environment Agency operates within the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs, while councils, environmental health officers and the Office for Environmental Protection all play roles in regulation oversight. The challenge before us is not simply about adding another institution into that landscape; it is about ensuring that any reform simplifies governance rather than compliance, which would complicate it further. That point was made very clearly in one of the last speeches by Tom Elliott, now Lord Elliott, when he was an MLA. He said:

"What we do not want ... is a plethora of agencies and organisations that oversee the environment, because we will end up with a situation where ... nobody knows where the responsibilities lie."

We are already dealing with that in the Committee that I chair.

That warning remains highly relevant today. If an independent environmental protection agency is to be created, it must not replicate the existing functions nor introduce layers of bureaucracy that ultimately slow decision-making and confuse accountability. Independence is important, but independence in itself is not enough. It must be built on a clearly defined mandate, proper resourcing and strong governance. Otherwise, we risk simply changing the structures on paper whilst the underlying problems remain unsolved. The review that has taken place has examined a range of options, including whether NIEA should evolve into a more independent regulator; how enforcement powers might be strengthened; and how environmental governance can be better addressed across departmental structures. That work has been subject to engagement with stakeholders from across society, including environmental agencies, industry, academia and the farming community. That breadth is essential, because environmental policy does not exist in isolation. It intersects directly with agriculture, infrastructure, planning and rural and economic development, and, when we examine the pressures affecting water quality and biodiversity across Northern Ireland, we see just how complex those interactions are. Agricultural activity, waste water infrastructure and septic systems all contribute to the pressures on our waterways, and that complexity is why governance reform must be approached responsibly. I will again reference Lord Elliott, who observed in the previous mandate:

"It will take a lot more than an independent environmental protection agency to stop that process." — [Official Report (Hansard), 13 May 2024, p49, col 2].

That is an important point. A new regulator may strengthen oversight and enforcement, but it will not, on its own, resolve the environmental challenges that we face. That is why the terms of reference for any new agency must be rigorously defined. If Northern Ireland moves toward a new environmental regulator, it must be capable of working across all Departments, coordinating effectively with existing bodies and enforcing standards where necessary. However, it must also be tasked with delivering practical and balanced solutions. Our environment does not exist separately from the communities in which we live and work. Northern Ireland's agri-food sector remains one of our most important economic pillars as it sustains rural communities across the region. Farmers are not separate from environmental protection. In fact, in many cases, they are the bulwark of environmental protection. They are absolutely central to it. Many have been stewarding the same land for generations and have a direct interest in protecting soil, water and biodiversity. It is in their interests. Any future governance structures must recognise that reality. Environmental protections must go hand in hand with sustaining agriculture.

921 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Assessment

Not flagged

Jev’s structured answers

Assessed 21 October 2026 at 15:13 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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