Debate contribution: Independent Environmental Protection Agency

Debate contribution by Miss Áine Murphy on 10 March 2026.

MLA: Miss Áine Murphy
Party at the time: Sinn Féin
Date: 10 March 2026
Type: Debate contribution
Business: Private Members' Business
Heading: Independent Environmental Protection Agency
Assembly identifier: Official Report component 5437193

Text

I welcome the opportunity to speak to the motion. Obviously, we will support the motion. The establishment of an independent environmental protection agency is about protecting the natural assets that sustain our communities, livelihoods and local economies. Few places in the North are as closely connected to water as my beloved county of Fermanagh, which is home to Lough Erne, a unique network of rivers and lakes that forms one of the most distinctive inland waterways anywhere across these islands.
Those waterways are central to our identity, and they play a central role in our economy. Local tourism depends on them. Boat hire companies, angling guides, guest houses, hotels, restaurants and activity providers all rely on the health and, indeed, important reputation of those waterways. When environmental protections fail, that reputation is put at risk.
I absolutely agree with the Member. Residents of Killeeshil and Cabragh have been dealing with horrific experiences, so having an EPA would help with transparency, enforcement and monitoring. When environmental protections fail, jobs are put at risk, livelihoods are put at risk and rural economies are put at risk. Recent years have shown how vulnerable our waterways can be. Lough Neagh has been mentioned, and I will mention it again, and Mobuoy is referenced in the motion. The crisis at Lough Neagh should be a stark warning of what can happen and what the economic consequences can be for local communities that surround the lough shore. What has happened has been detrimental. Indeed, reputational damage has been done to communities around the lough shore. That is why it matters that an EPA be established. It was agreed as part of NDNA that an EPA would be created. That commitment needs to be honoured, yet we have seen the creation of the agency blocked. That sends out the wrong signal, especially at a time when public confidence in environmental governance needs to be strengthened. It also weakens our ability as an Assembly to respond to environmental crises and to protect the natural assets that support regional economies such as the one in County Fermanagh. This is about protecting our waterways, protecting our rural economies and protecting the natural environment on which so many of our communities depend.

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

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