Every imported question, contribution and motion, with its classification. Unflagged, uncertain and not-yet-analysed records are all included so the analysis can be checked independently.
There have been two reports. The Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute's (AFBI) 'RePhoKUs' study came out in 2020. That peer-reviewed science has been published. More recently, New Harmonica research has pointed towards the sources of pollution. Such research allows us to target our action. I will say two things. We can…
Minister, we have heard the magic numbers of 62/24/12 from agriculture, sewage and septic tanks respectively. Can you provide evidence for those numbers, or were they part of a desktop exercise to point the finger at the industries involved?
I am the Minister of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs, and I have been clear that water pollution needs to be dealt with. I will again say today, in case people were not listening, that sewage pollution of our waterways is not acceptable. I want to strengthen regulation and enforcement on that, because the…
That is something for which, thankfully, we have arrangements in place. We have the policing and community safety partnerships (PCSPs) in Northern Ireland that can shape local responses. I am happy to discuss with the Member any particular concerns that he has and relay those to my partners in the justice system.
I thank the Minister for his response; indeed, I share his view that crime in rural areas is compounded by the sense of isolation. In his engagement with the Rural Crime Partnership, would it be possible or desirable to target resources into areas where there is a particular identified need and high risk?
Yes, I engaged with the Justice Minister on the importance of Rural Crime Week, and we profiled that because, collectively, working across government and with the Police Service of Northern Ireland, it is important that we raise awareness of those issues and encourage people to come forward and report them. The Member…
Mr McCrossan, I do not get involved in freedom of information requests to the Department. If I, as the Minister, were doing that, you would be the first to say that it was totally inappropriate. You have the right to appeal the decision. I am not going to say to officials, "Release this and do not release that"; that…
Minister, that does not really answer the question. I understand that private information that could identify individuals must be redacted, but almost all of the document was redacted, including conversations or approaches to dealing with the A5, if there were any such discussions. Will the Minister confirm to the…
The request for freedom of information was processed and responded to in line with the relevant legislation. The relevant exemptions were applied in respect of withheld or redacted information, and that was fully outlined in the response. As Minister, I do not get involved in deciding what is released and what is not…
My Department continues to finalise the actions in the draft clean air strategy. The strategy's focus will be on improving air quality across Northern Ireland, including Belfast, with a focus on human health. Whilst my Department will lead on the work, there is an important role for other Departments to play to ensure…
The agreement was reached in May of this year. The UK Government are working through the negotiation of the legal text. We understand that implementation will take place in 2027. It will have real benefits for us when it comes to the movement of agri-food products between GB and NI. I have made it clear to the UK…
That is slightly complicated because of the Secretary of State's direction and control powers and the differential that sits in my Department. As Minister, I am aware of concerns that have been raised about movements of products from outside the European Union into the European Union and then across from Calais to…
Has the Minister any statistics on the quantity of illegal meat entering Northern Ireland and on the route by which it comes? Is it by sea, by air or principally by land through the Republic of Ireland? Is he aware of any attempts to bring in live animals by smuggling?
I have engaged significantly with the UK Government on the issue on the back of recent reports, including the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (EFRA) Committee report that came out on 8 September. Movements of meat products between GB and NI largely sit with the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural…
I thank the Minister for his answer. It did not have a lot of detail. When it comes to smuggling illegal meat or smuggling anything, smugglers will look for the easiest route. What do we do here to protect ourselves from illegal meat-smuggling through the Republic of Ireland into Northern Ireland?
Responsibility for assessing and managing the risks from illegally imported meat rests with the UK Government through the border target operating model (BTOM). I continue to engage with UK Government counterparts and have emphasised the importance of implementing the BTOM at the earliest opportunity to strengthen…
The time frame for delivery relies largely on resources. Every time that I receive correspondence from Members, MPs or councillors asking for an update, it breaks my heart to have to reply, "That was the last time that we received something. We cannot give you any further update". We need to do better in that regard.…
Minister, may I add to that? I am glad to see that there is a programme of action for rectifying some of the deficiencies. When will the programme that you just outlined be fulfilled? Will part of that include at least responses to elected representatives that give some clarity on where in the process an application…
The Department is actively seeking to recruit nine new staff members to support the planning function in the natural environment division of NIEA. It is hoped that, once in post, those new staff will add resilience to the DAERA planning function in order to support a reduction in response time frames.
It is a fact that we do not meet those targets, and one of the key issues in that is resources and recruiting people into the role. We are continuing to focus on that. I understand the concerns about the matter, and we continue to work at it.
I thank the Minister for his response. Does he accept that, despite his past promises, the NIEA is still not meeting its consultation response time frames?
As a statutory consultee in the planning system, DAERA's performance is measured against a duty to respond to a statutory consultation within 21 calendar days or an otherwise agreed timescale. I am aware of the frustrations that are caused by the time that it takes my Department to respond as a statutory consultee to…
I have been very clear that sheep support is a priority for me and my Department. Once we get the farm sustainability payment and farm sustainability standards in place — hopefully, we can get that done this year, because people have been trading entitlements on the basis that that new payment arrangement will come…