Debate contribution: Independent Environmental Protection Agency

Debate contribution by Mr John Blair on 10 March 2026.

MLA

Mr John Blair

Party at the time

Alliance Party

Date

10 March 2026

Type

Debate contribution

Business

Private Members' Business

Heading

Independent Environmental Protection Agency

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 5437356

Read the official Assembly record

Text

Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. The Alliance position has been ably set out by my party colleagues, but, as the Alliance environment spokesperson, I will make some comments of my own before I reflect on the contributions that Members made during the debate. As I have stated before, to the Alliance Party, creating an independent environmental protection agency is more than just a policy; it is a fundamental principle and long-standing goal. We have advocated for it consistently. We view its establishment as vital for a sustainable future in Northern Ireland. The need for such an agency is pressing, and the evidence is irrefutable. The recent independent review of environmental governance provided a thorough and scientific assessment, highlighting not only the depth of the environmental pressures facing Northern Ireland but the critical gaps in governance, accountability and enforcement that have undermined the achievement of real progress. The report's conclusion was clear: an independent EPA is needed to strengthen environmental governance in Northern Ireland.

Despite the difficulties that he continues to face at the Executive, the Alliance Minister of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs has refused to step away from delivering on his commitment to establish an independent, effective and well-funded environmental protection agency.

Not at the moment. The Assembly must also be honest about what has been happening politically. The motion rightly and strongly condemns the blocking of the establishment of an independent environmental protection agency by the DUP. It further condemns the hypocrisy of those who express concern about the Lough Neagh crisis, the illegal dump at Mobuoy and wider environmental degradation but then refuse to support plans to enhance environmental accountability and safeguards. We all know the line. They say that we, or the Minister, must do something about Lough Neagh, and they then come to the Chamber and vote against the very measures that have been proposed to improve things. I will give way to Mr Buckley, but I may not take many interventions.

The Member is repeating lines that he has rehearsed many times. He knows my position on climate action, and I know his position on climate denial. As the motion states, we should also remember that a commitment to an IEPA was contained in the New Decade, New Approach deal. That was a collective agreement, and it is therefore fundamentally —

I will give way once more, but this will be it.

I appreciate the points made by Mr Butler, but we were all at the talks and, after the deal, back here to work. As I was saying, it is therefore fundamentally undemocratic for an independent agency on the environment to be unilaterally vetoed by one party that represents a minority in the Assembly as a whole. When one party can block a cross-party, publicly stated commitment, it undermines faith in this institution and in the agreements that underpin it. Accordingly, the motion calls on the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland to take meaningful steps to ensure that the commitment in NDNA is implemented. If this Assembly is prevented from delivering on its own agreed commitments by a one-party veto, it is right that the UK Government should act to uphold what was promised to the people of Northern Ireland. The distressing situation at Lough Neagh, the tragic loss of biodiversity, the state of our rivers, illegal dumping at sites like Mobuoy and many others, and the ever-worsening impacts of climate change are testament to the costs, environmental and financial, of inaction. We cannot continue to accept fragmented environmental governance, divided across multiple agencies with blurred lines of responsibility and accountability. That fragmentation breeds inconsistency and inefficiency and, most harmful of all, allows vital deadlines and targets to slip past unfulfilled. The Alliance Party recognises that creating a genuinely independent agency will be challenging and that it is not a quick solution to our problems. Difficult choices will be necessary, and funding will need to be secured, but that should not be viewed as a drawback but, rather, as an opportunity and an investment in our future. To achieve lasting and effective solutions, we must embrace cross-departmental collaboration. Environmental challenges do not respect departmental boundaries or sectoral silos. They demand an all-of-government approach that is underpinned by strong political will and shared responsibility. The EPA must be operationally independent, but it must also be supported by and work with every part of government. I want to highlight the fact that this is not only about obligation but about opportunities for positive, lasting change. An independent environmental protection agency will act not only as a vital watchdog and a deterrent to polluters but as a catalyst for restoration, investment and fostering public trust in institutions. It can drive improvements in cross-border cooperation and help to protect what is a single biogeographical unit spanning the island of Ireland.

Before I turn to other Members' comments, I will clarify — because the point was made by a number of Members — that the Northern Ireland Environment Agency is neither an ALB nor a quango: it is an Executive agency in a Department called DAERA. That demonstrates very clearly its lack of independence in that regard. I will move on to comments from Members from parties other than mine. Matthew O'Toole, when moving the amendment, said that it was intended to aid accountability. I accept that. I hope that he does not mind my saying, respectfully, that he criticised other parties for not having preconditions on entering an Executive but did not manage to demonstrate a single gain for the SDLP from the many preconditions that it laid down before taking part in an Executive.

I said it respectfully. Aoife Finnegan highlighted the need for action and called out the seriousness of the crises in our environmental systems, pointing out the crisis at Lough Neagh as one of them. Robbie Butler said clearly that, in principle, the Ulster Unionist Party agreed with having an independent environmental protection agency but that the process must be rigorous. Declan McAleer talked of the needs of smaller family farms and the important role that farmers can play in finding solutions in that regard. The deputy leader of the DUP referenced other quangos. That dealt with the quango element of the NIEA, which is not a quango. Facts, such as the fact that the independent environmental protection agency could replace some of those groups, were, I think, deliberately ignored. The fact that the matter has cross-party agreement, not just agreement from the Alliance Party, was also ignored. The Member for Strangford used some latitude, I suggest, to refer to other Ministers, agencies and even a cake. In doing so, she seemed to conflate or confuse "distraction, deflection and insult" with having a difference of opinion on policy in a democracy. Let me make it clear, in good faith, to the deputy leader of the DUP that I respect her views on Europe, her views on the environment and her views on the motion.

I am not insulted by them, nor should she be by my views.

An insult is different from a difference of opinion in a democracy. An insult is when members of a political party call an entire community "an abomination".

An insult is when members of a political party say that a community and its membership make them sick to their stomach.

I know a bit about that community. I know a bit about those insults.

In good faith, I tell them that my door is open if they want to speak to me about those insults and the differences between those comments and a difference of opinion on a democratic policy. Colleagues of the Members whom I have listed also spoke on similar issues. In conclusion, we need to deliver an environmental protection agency that protects the environment, ensures accountability and regains public trust. In simple terms, the public expect more from us in the Chamber, and, quite frankly, our natural environment deserves better.

1,327 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Assessment

Not flagged

Jev’s structured answers

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

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