Archived press release

International expert on environment calls for establishment of Northern Ireland environment protection agency

14 November 2007

The Coalition for Environmental Protection has welcomed the comments by Tom Burke, Chairperson of the recent Review of Environmental Governance (REGNI) who has said that it is the public's perception that Government is not up to the job of protecting Northern Ireland’s environment.

Mr Burke made these comments before tomorrow morning’s (14 November) cross-party [1] event at Stormont, which will urge the Northern Ireland Executive to establish an independent environmental protection agency. MLAs Gerry Adams, David Ford, Tommy Gallagher and Danny Kennedy will join Mr Burke by speaking at the event, chaired by the BBC’s Noel Thompson.

Speaking on behalf of the Coalition for Environmental Protection [2], RSPB NI’s Dr James Robinson said:

“Tomorrow’s event is a public expression of the absolute need for an environmental protection agency in Northern Ireland. The Coalition for Environmental Protection represents over 100,000 members from nine environmental NGOs, and we will be joined by four of the main parties locally who have also articulated their support for an independent environment agency.  We will be presenting the results of a major new study [3] that shows the creation of a new environmental protection agency will entail little or no additional costs to the taxpayer and could pay for itself within 5 years by creating a more efficient system. This should reassure the UFU and others that there would be no incentive for an agency to increase charges for licences to fund its work.”

In accepting an invitation to speak at tomorrow ’s seminar, Mr Burke, who chaired the Independent Review of Environmental Governance in Northern Ireland, said:

‘This is a very timely event and I am very pleased to be speaking at it. A high quality environment is an essential part of Northern Ireland’s attractiveness to inward investment. It became clear to us during our Review that the Government of Northern Ireland had lost the confidence of a wide range of bodies, including those from business, the academic community, voluntary organisations and community groups, in its ability to deliver a high quality environment.

“We found that there was very widespread support for the creation of an independent Environment Protection Agency in Northern Ireland. This was further reflected in the outcome of the Assembly debate on 25 September 2007. I understand the disappointment of those frustrated by the length of time it has taken for the Department of the Environment to respond to our report. In the light of the history of previous attempts at environmental modernisation in Northern Ireland, which we documented in our Review, this delay could easily be interpreted as a reluctance to act. The Department would reassure many if, at the very least, it was to announce a timetable for its response.”  

Notes

[1] (back) An Assembly motion on the 25th September 2007 was proposed by David Ford MLA and Brian Wilson MLA. Their motion called for the establishment of an Environmental Protection Agency for Northern Ireland. Alliance, DUP, UUP, SDLP and Sinn Fein all expressed their in-principle support for an agency.

[2] (back) The Coalition for Environmental Protection comprises:

Conservation Volunteers Northern Ireland
Friends of the Earth
National Trust
Northern Ireland Environment Link
Royal Society for the Protection of Birds
Ulster Wildlife Trust
Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust
Woodlands Trust
WWF (Northern Ireland)

[3] (back) The report 'Estimating potential costs for an independent environmental protection agency in Northern Ireland' is available here.

Friends of the Earth Northern Ireland
7 Donegall Street Place
BELFAST
BT1 2FN
Tel: 028 9023 3488
Fax: 028 9024 7556
Email: foe-ni@foe.co.uk.

Published by Friends of the Earth Trust