Archived press release

Nesbitt for Environment : A Polluted Chalice?

19 February 2002

Friends of the Earth welcomed the appointment of Dermot Nesbitt MLA to the post of Environment Minister today with a stark assessment of the challenges he faces.

Head of Campaigns, John Woods, said:

"For years a succession of Ministers and highly paid civil servants have presided over an astonishing inertia at the Department of the Environment. Dermot Nesbitt will walk straight into a crisis as the European Union threatens huge fines for our failure to implement a series of EU Directives on the environment.[1]

He enters a Department whose culture is one of minimal compliance with modern standards of pollution control rather than the beacon of best practice which it should be. I am confident that Dermot Nesbitt can provide the leadership the Department badly needs to be able to start doing its job properly."

Friends of the Earth also expressed serious concerns about the Department's performance on waste management and planning.

John Woods continued:

"Although the impending crisis of what to do with our waste has been staring successive Ministers in the face for years, progress on waste management plans continues at a snail's pace. The new Minister will be asking some searching questions.

Planning is another contentious area which will require the Minister's attention. First on the list of concerns will be the hopeless consultation process on the Belfast Metropolitan Area Plan and then we hope he will be asking why Planning Service wants to take away the right of citizens to be heard at a public inquiry.[2]"

Notes

[1] The European Commission has commenced legal proceedings against the UK Government for failure to introduce a number of environmental Directives into Northern Ireland law. Under the terms of an agreement between the Northern Ireland Executive and the UK Government, Northern Ireland is responsible for the payment of fines against the UK for non-compliance in Northern Ireland.

[2] Modernising Planning consultation document published by Planning Service, 14 Feb 2002.

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