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.
Thank you very much, Patsy. The A5 is a key concern for everyone in Northern Ireland. I am taking time to carefully consider the judgement that was handed down, and I encourage others to do likewise. As part of my considerations, I am engaging with Minister Kimmins, and our officials are engaging across both…
The number of businesses that applied for the young farmers' payment from 2023 to 2025 is as follows: in 2023, 181 young farmers' applications were received, with 145 being accepted; in 2024, 195 applications were received, and 164 were accepted; and, in 2025, 358 applications were received, and the number accepted is…
I have outlined what I intend to do on sewage pollution to strengthen the regulation and enforcement. I will bring that to the Executive and look for support for it, because I believe in fairness, and, if people believe that it is wrong that there is a separate regime for sewage pollution, they need to back my plans…
Minister, there is a little bit of diplomacy in your answers. Is it not somewhat ironic that a Sinn Féin Member asks about the Lough Neagh action plan when their party voted against one of the critical parts of the plan? Further to that, it appears that the two big parties in the Executive are going to block progress…
As Minister, I am doing all that I can on that. I have been clear and have put on the record that the statement of regulatory principles and intent (SORPI) is not fit for purpose. A consultation is under way on that between DFI and NI Water that closes at the beginning of next month. I will then take recommendations…
The Lough Neagh Fishermen's Co-operative's suspension of eel fishing remains in place until the week commencing 14 July, as the Member is aware. The society will provide test fish to the Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI) and the Food Standards Agency (FSA) in the coming weeks. Scale fishing continues in the…
Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire as ucht an fhreagra chuimsithigh sin. Minister, you will be aware that a moratorium has been placed on eel fishing in Lough Neagh since the second week of May. That is causing huge financial hardship, particularly to those in our commercial fishing sector. Indeed, Minister, you met a…
Mr Speaker, with your permission, I will group questions 9 and 14 together. I will provide you first with an assessment of the current ecological status of Lough Neagh and then an update on the progress made on the Lough Neagh report and action plan. The 2024 water quality classification for rivers, lakes and marine…
The climate action plan is out for consultation. If people want to read it, it is on the DAERA website. It is very clear that the climate action plan for 2023-27 is not about herd reduction. It is about productivity, and the plan sets that out. The actions that I am taking are that I have managed to secure funding of…
Minister, the agricultural targets contained in the draft climate action plan will destroy our agri-industry, with its reduction targets for livestock of 22% in dairy cattle, 17% in beef cattle and 18% in sheep, pigs and poultry. Minister, what steps are you taking to protect the industry that you are meant to…
First, when it comes to the A5, I want to say one thing: my thoughts are with the families and friends who have been bereaved as a result of accidents on that road. I have met a number of them, and they had heartbreaking stories. The delivery of the A5 is an Executive commitment. I back it, not just as an MLA but as…
Minister, at any time, did you meet the former Minister for Infrastructure, John O'Dowd, prior to his approval of the A5 in October 2024 to discuss how the A5 project might meet its Climate Change Act obligations? If so, when did you meet?
The targets set out in the climate change legislation were agreed unanimously as part of the overall package of legislation at the Bill's Final Stage. Northern Ireland is not an outlier in its decarbonisation goals. A high percentage of countries are aiming for decarbonisation. It is false and wrong to make out that…
The Minister has raised many times in the Chamber today the issue of climate change targets and his legal obligations under them. Will he urge his party and the Assembly to row back on unachievable climate change targets that are highly damaging to the people of Northern Ireland, as seen in the A5 project?
We sit here in June 2025. The Climate Change Act was passed in March 2022. Shortly after that, the institutions did not sit for two years. Those were two years in which the opportunity to implement the legislation was missed as a result of the collapse of the institutions by the DUP. When I brought to the Executive…
Mr Speaker, I intended, with your permission, to group questions 2 and 8, but the Member was not here to ask question 2. I met the former Minister for the Economy, Minister Murphy, in June of last year. I met him again in January of this year, and I met the current Minister for the Economy, Minister Archibald, in…
I am very conscious of people's concerns on that, and many are rightly at the end of their tether. I will speak to officials this afternoon, including the chief executive of the Environment Agency. Whatever we do has to be within our legal vires, but I am conscious of the concerns and will follow the matter up today.
Minister, surely the people of Warrenpoint deserve good environmental governance when it comes to the ongoing decision by your Department and the NIEA to allow Re-Gen to store tens of thousands of tons of putrid black-bin waste in close proximity to people's homes. Minister, the smell returned with ferocity over the…
Thank you, Kellie. In the interim report, the panel identified two areas that, it feels, require further work. One is fleshing out the proposal for a new non-departmental public body. In essence, that would be the independent environmental protection agency. The other is reflecting the shared responsibilities for…
Thank you very much, Minister. You mentioned environmental governance: will you outline what the next steps might be to strengthen environmental governance following the publication this summer of the panel's final report?
I welcome the timely publication of the 'Independent Review of Environmental Governance in Northern Ireland - Interim Report'. It marks a significant step in the overall review process, with the independent panel now moving towards its final report. The need to strengthen environmental governance has never been more…
We have already discussed the fishing and coastal growth fund. I am fighting to get a fair share of that for Northern Ireland. I am also reviewing the potential for a bilateral agreement with the Irish Government for access to their 6- to 12-mile zone rather than have that engagement take place through DEFRA.…