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.
Bovine tuberculosis (bTB) is one of the most challenging issues that cattle farmers and my Department face. The cost of delivering the Northern Ireland bovine TB eradication programme was almost £56 million last year, and current estimates indicate that there will be a rise in programme costs to approximately £60…
Minister, your special adviser told you on Sunday 4 August that she was resigning, and you agreed a highly unusual — some would say unprecedented — period of notice of some nine days. Will the Minister provide a reason for such a short period of notice?
Special advisers who are taking up new jobs have to comply with the Northern Ireland Civil Service standard of conduct in order to maintain public trust and avoid the risk that a firm or organisation might gain an improper advantage. That has not happened with Dr Carson. Minister, you claim that there is nothing to…
I read 'The Impartial Reporter' investigation and am aware of the reports and concerns. The issue is on my mind and is of great concern to me. When we get together with those stakeholders soon, that issue will be on the agenda. I get the public concern, because I share it. I want to look at what more we can do in that…
As the Minister is aware, a recent investigation by Victoria Johnston of 'The Impartial Reporter' highlighted a number of loopholes in the current dog-breeding establishment legislation. Will the Minister consider undertaking a fundamental review of existing legislation on dog-breeding establishments?
There are two aspects to your question. If you are aware of any concerns about council engagement, you can bring them to me and I will engage constructively with the councils on them. Stakeholder engagement on the reform of animal welfare legislation will include the councils, because they are key partners in it. I…
The Minister will know that I have raised the issue of puppy farming in my constituency in the Chamber before. I am interested to know what level of council engagement has taken place on Lucy's law. Councils seem to be a turning a blind eye to it slightly. Lucy's law gives an opportunity to limit premises to one…
I am passionate about improving animal welfare standards in Northern Ireland. We have lost pace on that due to the collapse of the Assembly. I am determined to do what work I can, with the resources in my Department, to catch up on it. I will be engaging with stakeholders, because I want to do it in a process of…
I thank the Minister for his reply and the news that there has been real progress in bringing forward Lucy's law, which will be widely welcomed across the animal welfare sector. In addition to that, what measures will the Minister take to improve animal welfare more generally in the remainder of this mandate?
I remain committed to introducing legislation to regulate third-party sales of pups and kittens in Northern Ireland. I expect to be in a position to announce policy proposals by the end of this year along with a number of other key proposals, which I am confident will deliver improvements to the lives of companion…
Peatlands are absolutely key in this, and we are already doing work on that. We have funding from the Shared Island Fund, which is proving really useful to the actions that we can take towards peatland restoration. I have seen some of that work across Northern Ireland in action in recent months, but we want to take…
As I outlined in my response to Mark, we are taking forward a number of strategies in this area. In the shortened mandate that we have and within my Department's resource pressures, the ability to take forward legislation in a specific area is challenging for me. I am aware, however, that Mark H Durkan, who asked the…
Has the Minister given any consideration to specific biodiversity legislation or does he feel that existing strategies are enough to reverse the decline in biodiversity here?
I thank the Member for his question. I am very well aware of what the OEP report said about the drivers of biodiversity loss. It was very stark reading, and I encourage everyone in the House and beyond to read the report. The NAP, as the Member outlined, is a key intervention in dealing with that nutrient overload in…
I thank the Minister for his answer, in which he referred to the recent OEP report and, indeed, the nutrients action programme. Given that the OEP report identified one of the key drivers of biodiversity loss as an unsustainable nutrients surplus, will the Minister advise us when the nutrients action programme will be…
It is widely recognised that Northern Ireland’s natural environment and its habitats and species are under considerable pressure, having suffered continuous biodiversity loss in recent decades. Indeed, the recent evidence report from the Office for Environmental Protection (OEP) highlights the precarious state of…
That work is continuing against our action plan, and good progress is being made. We hope to be in a position to update the Committee on progress against all the action plan points very shortly.
Yes. There has been a commitment to bringing forward those social inclusion strategies. They will be tailored to those particular groups and are loosely based on each of the section 75 groups. The Department for Communities takes the lead on that, and I know that a significant amount of work is already under way. From…
Work is under way. A number of our equality areas of work, such as equality strategies for older people and people with disabilities and strategies on gender, have moved to the Department for Communities. That Department takes a lead on bringing forward most of our social inclusion strategies now, but, of course, at…