Andrew Muir
North Down · Alliance Party · Northern Ireland
“Thank you very much, Mr Deputy Speaker. As Minister, I am grateful to the Chair of the Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs Committee and to Members from all sides of the Chamber for their consideration of the Bill and their contributions to the debate, which have been valuable and useful.”
“I will write to you with regard to your query. <BR /> <BR />The other issue, as I said, is reporting pollution incidents so that they can be effectively investigated. There is a duty on everyone to do that promptly.”
“Aquaculture provides real economic opportunities, and the Bill will help ensure that those opportunities are realised responsibly without compromising the environment. Importantly, the Bill includes transitional provisions so that existing licences can continue seamlessly as aquaculture licences, with their conditions unchanged.”
“That is not about being punitive for its own sake; it is about ensuring that the legal framework reflects the true value of our natural resources and the importance of protecting them for future generations.”
“<BR /> <BR />On strengthening the regulation of inland waters, the Bill modernises long-standing powers under the Fisheries Act (Northern Ireland) 1966, ensuring that they are fit for today's environmental and industry challenges. That matters because fisheries management today goes far beyond simply catching fish.”
“<BR /> <BR />A full regulatory impact assessment of the financial impact has been completed. It concluded that the Bill does not introduce significant new financial burdens and that any costs are outweighed by the long-term benefits.”
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“The report, which is excellent, was written by three respected individuals, who came forward as individuals to look at the issue. They have outlined what the functions of the independent environmental protection agency should be, and those functions relate to air and water quality, waste management, nature and biodiversity, and the marine environment. <BR /> <BR />One of the key benefits of this — there are many — relates to planning applications. The speed at which the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) turns around responses is not good enough.”
“I work night and day to deliver in my Department, within a constrained mandate and budget situation. However, I am determined to make progress on this, and Members need to back me.”
“I have set out today the process that I am taking forward. Since we left the EU, we have a very different environmental landscape. I need support, in principle, for an independent environmental protection agency. Now is the time for a decision on that. Once we get that agreed — hopefully — we will move to consultation. The cooperation of the Assembly is absolutely critical. If Members believe in this, they need to work with me on its implementation, so that we can have it legislated for by the end of the mandate. <BR /> <BR />I am up for doing it. You mentioned timescales. We lost two years of this mandate. You know why that was: it was not because of the Alliance Party or your party; it was because one party decided to walk away, which has constrained an awful lot of what we do in this place.”
“However, I am fully committed to strengthening environmental governance in Northern Ireland, improving public confidence in our arrangements and, ultimately, reducing environmental degradation. I hope that Members will support me in seeking to establish a new independent environmental protection agency in Northern Ireland as a non-departmental public body of DAERA. I will, of course, update Members as the work progresses and following Executive consideration.”
“Following public consultation, firm policy proposals will be brought back to the Executive to enable my Department to draft and implement the legislation needed to set up the new non-departmental public body. <BR /> <BR />The report also makes a number of recommendations that fall within the remit of my Department. In parallel with our work to prepare for an independent environmental protection agency, I will work with my officials to take forward those recommendations. Some aspects already align with work that is ongoing or our own plans for improvement. <BR /> <BR />As I have said on many occasions, there are no quick fixes to the significant environmental challenges that we face today. Environmental governance is no different.”
“Without decisive reform, Northern Ireland will continue to fall behind in meeting its environmental obligations and the public will continue to pay the price in quality of life and economic resilience. Restoring trust and confidence in environmental protection is crucial for the economy and for our communities. Better and more accountable regulation will create a fair and level playing field for all. <BR /> <BR />I therefore intend to seek the support of my Executive colleagues to agree, in principle, to the establishment of an independent environmental protection agency in Northern Ireland as a non-departmental public body of DAERA. That agreement in principle would allow us to move swiftly to look in greater detail at the powers, functions and status of the new body, together with the financial implications.”
“We are witnessing more and more visible signs that our environment is struggling, and we need to take the decisions now to change course. The costs of inaction are simply too great. We should look no further than Lough Neagh or the illegal dump at Mobuoy, which, as you will know, could cost hundreds of millions of pounds to resolve. Failed environmental governance and non-compliance with environmental law result in huge costs to the public purse, so we must invest now to make savings in the longer term. <BR /> <BR />Inaction also leads to increasingly degraded ecosystems, public health risks, negative impacts on people’s livelihoods and lost opportunities for sustainable growth.”
“<BR /> <BR />I assure Members that, as a non-departmental public body, the new agency will still be accountable to the Assembly, and its functions and the legislative framework within which it would work would be determined by Ministers and approved by the Assembly. Crucially, though, it would be overseen by an independent board that is led by a non-executive chair and would have full operational independence in how it discharges its functions. That would ensure that a new EPA would be able to carry out its regulatory, advisory and enforcement duties without political interference. Effective functional independence is important in building trust and confidence in the body's work. <BR /> <BR />Now is a pivotal moment for us all: we should establish an independent environmental protection agency, as recommended by the independent panel.”
“In the panel's view, that model provides the right balance of independence, accountability and deliverability, ensuring clear separation between policymaking and regulation whilst aligning with best practice from across these islands. I agree. <BR /> <BR />Northern Ireland is an outlier, as we are the only region in the UK and Ireland that does not have an independent environmental protection agency. That position is simply not sustainable. I recognise, as does the panel, that independence is not a silver bullet that will improve environmental governance in Northern Ireland, but it is a critical part of the overall governance system. Establishing an independent environmental protection agency is about much more than just aligning with what other regions are doing.”
“<BR /> <BR />The panel has set out a practical road map for reform that is structured around four key themes: clarity and coherence; meaningful independence; better compliance; and transparency and accountability. Those themes underpin 32 recommendations, which, when taken together, aim to deliver a governance system that the panel considers to be robust, trustworthy and capable of meeting Northern Ireland's environmental obligations and restoring public confidence. <BR /> <BR />At the heart of the panel's recommendations is the establishment of an independent environmental protection agency in Northern Ireland as a non-departmental public body. Its functions would include oversight of air and water quality, waste management, nature and biodiversity and the marine environment.”
“<BR /> <BR />The panel launched a call for evidence in January 2025. A total of 590 responses were received via Citizen Space and email. That was supported by three public events and substantial in-depth interviews with regulators, regulated parties and broader stakeholders across Northern Ireland, Great Britain and Ireland. The panel published its final report on 21 October 2025. <BR /> <BR />The report is extensive and detailed, and it provides a clear evidence-based case for change. It is unequivocal in its conclusion that the current environmental governance system is not fit for purpose and is failing everyone. The crisis in our environment is also a governance crisis, thus governance reform is a critical part of the solution.”
“Our latest Programme for Government commits the Executive to complete a review of environmental governance and commits me, as AERA Minister, to present a proposed way forward to the Executive for consideration and agreement. <BR /> <BR />In November 2024, I appointed an expert independent panel, led by Dr Viviane Gravey of Queen's University Belfast and supported by Diane Ruddock, a National Trust retiree, and John McCallister, a representative and member of the Ulster Farmers' Union. The panel was tasked with carrying out a review of environmental governance in Northern Ireland to assess the adequacy of the current arrangements and provide recommendations for improvement for my consideration. I put on record my sincere thanks to Viviane, Diane and John for carrying out that extensive and complex review as expert individuals.”
“Alongside those pressures, we continue to face challenges in tackling waste crime, improving air quality, restoring habitats and species, and delivering on our commitments to a circular economy. Taken collectively, those issues underline the urgent need for more effective governance to protect our environment and restore public confidence and trust in our environmental protection arrangements. <BR /> <BR />As Members are aware, 'New Decade, New Approach' included a clear commitment from the parties that were entitled to form an Executive that, as part of a Programme for Government, a returning Executive would establish an independent environmental protection agency.”
“For too long, our environment and nature have suffered from a lack of robust protections, and we are all seeing the consequences of that. This short, sharp and comprehensive review has provided the foundations for building a brighter future for our environment. We cannot continue to dodge this critical issue. Now is the time for action: the people of Northern Ireland expect and deserve it. <BR /> <BR />As we all know, Northern Ireland continues to experience significant environmental pressures. For example, there are water-quality concerns, including the widely recognised issues that are affecting Lough Neagh, and ongoing remediation challenges at the Mobuoy illegal waste site. Those pressures are compounded by the impacts of climate change, which is driving more frequent extreme weather events, biodiversity loss and soil degradation.”
“Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker, for the opportunity to address the Assembly on the outcome of the independent review of environmental governance in Northern Ireland and to set out my proposed way forward. <BR /> <BR />I have always firmly believed in an independent environmental protection agency (EPA) for Northern Ireland.”
“I will continue to respond to those voices, as I have done since I became Minister. However, I also have a duty to respond to everyone in Northern Ireland, and I take that duty seriously as well.”
“The first-day brief that I got as Minister sets that out, if people care to look at it. If the DUP had not downed tools and walked away for two years because the going got tough, we would have had primary legislation in place for a TB intervention; we would have resolved the ammonia situation; we would have been able to make much more progress on climate change and had a climate action plan in place; and we would have been able to deliver a just transition fund for agriculture at a much earlier stage. There have been multiple impacts as a result of one party deciding that it did not want to go to work.”
“The inability to take difficult decisions goes to the heart of the problem with these institutions. We debate issues, but people scatter when we talk about the difficult decisions. I have been open about the challenges that we have. I have engaged with everyone on those challenges and will continue to do so, but I will not be dishonest about them and my desire to work through them. We cannot just turn a blind eye or issue statements that are not followed up with action.”
“We have the DUP talking about embarrassment. It is a party that does not even know what shame is.”
“There are significant ethical issues with how we make policy in Northern Ireland. We should ensure that we listen to different views, but we should base our decisions on the science and evidence not on the views of any particular group. That is something that I am keen to do, and it is important that I do it. We have a duty to serve everyone and to listen to different voices. That is something that I have been keen to do as Minister. We may not agree, but it is important to listen and take this seriously. As Minister, I will continue to do that.”
“I am happy to consider any invitations, but I engage with farmers daily. I did it today; I am doing it tomorrow; and I will continue to do it. I will engage with the Ulster Farmers' Union and others through structured groups, and it is important that I do so.”
“Whilst some want to engage in denial and scepticism or ignore the reality of it, the financial markets will look at farming and the challenges that it faces by way of nature, biodiversity and climate change and the need for us to take action on it. That is what I hear from farmers daily. That is why we are investing in delivering that resilience for farming. Without a thriving environment and resilient nature and biodiversity, farming does not have a future. <BR /> <BR />I want to nail some of the incorrect stories that have been told. The vast majority of farmers are doing just that. The small minority on social media do not speak for all farmers in Northern Ireland; they speak for themselves.”
“I will continue to do that. I will go to the Committee, engage with people and be open around the issues. We all know the challenges. The difference is that I am just being honest about them.”
“The future is clear for us. We see the situation that is in front of us. For people to refer to peer-reviewed science as "magical figures" and make other comments is very dangerous. We have to respect scientists and the evidence that is in front of us and work together on it. I am committed to doing that. Over the past number of days, many farmers across Northern Ireland have contacted me to say this: we know that it is a tough job, but continue the engagement and let us work together. That is what I am committed to doing.”
“My job as Minister of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs is to serve everyone in Northern Ireland. I respect the Ulster Farmers' Union. It is a representative lobby group. I will continue to engage with it, but I have to serve everyone in Northern Ireland. I have to get us to a position where we deliver a resilient and thriving future for agriculture while improving our environment. It is damn hard, folks. The lough has been green for the past three years. Come on. People need to focus on delivering for everyone in Northern Ireland. I am happy to take criticism — that is fine — but let us try to work together, because people are looking at this place and, frankly, they are despairing.”
“I will continue to engage on the issue. In my job as Minister, I see people playing politics with issues and looking for wedge issues because of their own drop in the polls. They do not understand the importance of respecting the difficult decisions that I face, and other political parties are desperate to divide and prevent us from working. I respect the Ulster Farmers' Union. I have FOI requests coming in and reports saying that I meet it too often. There has been criticism that there is too much consultation and too many meetings. I am engaging and being honest about the issues, and I will work through them.”
“I want to reiterate one thing: criticise me all you want, but I take great exception to the passing of a motion of no confidence in my Department. There are excellent officials with whom I am privileged to work. I am really impressed by their professionalism and their commitment to the job. Do not criticise them. That is wrong.”
“The situation on ammonia is clear. If people read the report from the Office for Environmental Protection, they will see that it sets out the situation that we are in due to the fact that we were acting unlawfully. I have to find a way forward so that we can reduce ammonia emissions and allow replacement sheds. I am keen to do that. We consulted on the ammonia strategy, we are considering the responses to it and we will set out a way forward. They are significant challenges, because I have to stay on the right side of the law, but I also want to deliver for the farming community in Northern Ireland. They are difficult challenges. <BR /> <BR />It is not lost on me that Agriculture was the last Department that any political party wanted. People shied away from the difficult issues. I face up to them.”
“I am working through those issues, and I am guided by making sure that we are doing that through respect for science, evidence and the law. I do not underestimate the challenges that have faced the farming community in the past number of years. They are significant, and they have been compounded by the changes to inheritance tax. I will continue to work night and day to work through those issues. They are significant issues, and I look across the rest of the UK on the issues that they are facing. I will work with people on those.”
“I will continue to engage, and I am at a meeting tomorrow. Today, I met farmers from the Nature Friendly Farming Network, and I will continue to engage with all people. It is important that we listen and engage and that we face up to and work together on these issues. <BR /> <BR />I am committed to doing that. If anyone were to read the first-day brief that I got when I became Minister, they would see that I inherited a complete and utter mess — a mess that was the result of indecision and wrong decisions. If they were to read the reports from the Office for Environmental Protection, they would see that the situation that I inherited was that we were acting unlawfully on ammonia, we had a failed judicial review in relation to bovine TB and we had all the problems coming from Brexit.”
“Perhaps people need to be a bit more honest in facing people with regard to the issues and the decisions that need to be taken.”
“We are delivering significant benefits for farming in Northern Ireland. I was the only Minister in the UK to secure ring-fenced funding of over £300 million for agriculture, agri-environment, fisheries and rural development. I also secured a just transition fund for agriculture. I am very conscious of the immense challenges arising from Brexit, which others championed. I engaged with the UK Government, and we agreed a sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) veterinary agreement and are now negotiating the details around that. We also got a blueprint agreed with all the stakeholders around the table on tackling the significant issue of TB. I have been standing firmly against the proposed changes on inheritance tax. We are delivering change on the ground. I do not underestimate the challenges that we face.”
“What I find strange about some of the questions from the DUP around this is that a lot of the policy that I am delivering is policy from my predecessor. The climate change legislation was passed by a DUP AERA Minister. It is farming policy that was initiated by a DUP AERA Minister. I am delivering on pledges previously made, and I believe in delivering on those. Climate change is one of the biggest threats to farming in Northern Ireland, and I am committed to supporting farmers on that journey on the road ahead.”
“Naomi Long is a colleague; she is a friend; and she is the Justice Minister. Both Naomi and I work hard for all the citizens of Northern Ireland. If you think that I am going somewhere, Mr Gaston, you have another thing coming. I have a job of work to do, and I do it across the whole remit of the Department: the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs. If we are talking about what your party has delivered for farmers, you delivered one of the biggest negative impacts to farming in Northern Ireland, which was Brexit. Brexit has destroyed the UK economy, and it was one of the biggest betrayals of the people of Northern Ireland. You should own up and take responsibility for that.”
“It requires leadership that ensures that the law is complied with and that policy is shaped by evidence, not rhetoric. It requires courage, not timidity. It also requires all of us to work together. As Minister, my door is always open, and it will continue to be so. I have scheduled a meeting with the UFU president and chief executive in my office tomorrow. I look forward to seeing them both. <BR /> <BR />I will outline my real concern about the motion: it is a motion of no confidence in my Department. I am immensely proud of the officials with whom I am privileged to work, and I stand full-square in support of them.”
“I fully agree with the Ulster Farmers' Union that previous policies in relation to bovine TB failed Northern Ireland; so too have our past approaches to addressing biodiversity and delivering the high standards of water quality and air quality that citizens rightly expect. Like others in these islands, we face new challenges around adapting to climate change that require us to reduce carbon emissions; a particular challenge, given agriculture and the role that it plays. I am committed to having a just transition for agriculture and ensuring a successful future for farming, whilst restoring our environment, improving air and water quality, and driving down rates of TB. That requires leadership. That does not involve backing away from inconvenient truths.”
“Last Thursday, I was disappointed to learn of the vote taken by the Ulster Farmers' Union (UFU). I am proud of our farm families and the role that they play, and I am proud of the international reputation that we rightly enjoy for the quality of the food produced here, and I am pleased to champion that on many fronts. My record of standing up for our farm families, whether on inheritance tax or on securing continued ring-fenced funding for agriculture, is clear. <BR /> <BR />Good leadership is not defined by running away from challenges; rather, it is defined by identifying and facing up to them. Here, in Northern Ireland, we face some very significant challenges, partly as a result of decisions taken by those who came before me.”
“As I said, the nest was treated on Friday night and removed on Saturday, but it could be the case that, on Friday night, some hornets were not in the nest and will therefore still be in the locality, so it is important that people report any sightings to us.”
“Yes. That is part of the remit of the British-Irish Council, because the Asian hornet has been identified as a risk. The Channel Islands have also had sightings of the Asian hornet. That is why the nest found here is with AFBI for analysis. It is therefore important that we analyse what we have found in order to allow us to respond. The fact that the Asian hornet has been found in Belfast is unprecedented. How the first one got here is not entirely clear. There is a possibility that it could have arrived through a delivery as a stowaway, but it is really important that people report sightings.”
“The point that I made about awareness of the matter is that dissemination of information, followed by reporting, is critical. The reason for that is that the Asian hornet is a highly effective predator of insects, including honeybees, wasps, hoverflies and other important pollinators, so it is really important that reports of sightings be made in order to allow the Northern Ireland Environment Agency to respond to them, because the Asian hornet threatens our native insect biodiversity and pollination services more widely.”
“As the situation unfolds, it is really important that we get on top of it and allow people to report sightings as soon as possible.”
“We already have a response plan and are implementing it. We will review it in light of the situation that we have experienced and any lessons that we have learnt from it. Having shared knowledge through taking an all-Ireland approach is important. It is also important that I set out that, to date, there have been around 500 sightings of Asian hornets across the UK and Ireland, but those sightings had been in North Yorkshire and Cheshire, so the fact that sightings have occurred in Belfast and that a nest was discovered is of concern to us. It is therefore important that people report sightings to us in order to enable a prompt response. We will seek to manage the pressure in-year. It is important that we do that.”
“My Department is responding to recent reductions in staff available for bee inspections. Recruitment competitions are under way to increase the number of inspectors who are available to carry out a range of duties, including bee inspections.”
“Thank you, Andy. The Shared Island initiative was key to our response, because it has allowed the sharing of expertise and knowledge about the two nests that were found previously in Cobh and Cork. An individual who is involved in the Shared Island initiative lives quite close to the site where the Asian hornets were spotted and from where the nest has been removed. That was very useful. <BR /> <BR />I spoke to my ministerial counterparts at the North/South Ministerial Council meeting at the end of last week about the situation, and I thank them for the Shared Island funding and support. That shows why we need to cooperate on the issue and what the benefits of such cooperation are.”
“We are working through the situation and will seek to absorb the cost within the budget in year. The budget is extremely tight. My Department is also dealing with avian influenza, which puts a budget pressure on us. As the situation develops, we will look at how we support the beekeeping industry in Northern Ireland and continue that engagement. The most effective way in which to deal with the situation immediately is for people to be aware of it and to report any sightings of Asian hornets to the Department so that we can track them. <BR /> <BR />The vigilance of members of the public allowed us to locate the nest. I thank the officials who worked very quickly to locate the site of the nest. They moved in at dusk on Friday to apply a powder before removing the nest on Saturday. It was a very quick response.”
“Officials engaged with the Ulster Beekeepers' Association upon the first sighting of an Asian hornet. They will meet the association again tomorrow. As Minister, I will seek to engage with the association on the issue as well. The main thing for us to do is to raise awareness and encourage people to report sightings. Through the vigilance of members of the public, we have been able to track the Asian hornets, locate where the nest was and treat it. I thank people for reporting it, and ask people to continue doing that.”
“I urge the public and beekeepers to remain vigilant and report any suspect insects, ideally with a photograph, to DAERA via the Asian Hornet Watch app or the Centre for Environmental Data and Recording (CEDaR) online recording.”
“A report from a member of the public of an Asian hornet in the Dundonald area of Belfast led to the location of a nest by Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) officials. The nest was treated and successfully removed on Saturday 18 October. The nest has been delivered to the Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI) for analysis to determine what stage the hornets were at in their breeding cycle. Genetic analysis to obtain clues as to their origin is also being scoped. NIEA is continuing its monitoring and trapping programme in the Dundonald area to ensure that there are no further nests. <BR /> <BR />There will be some residual activity from hornets that were not in the nest when it was treated. That is normal. Those hornets will either be trapped or will die off.”
“I am concerned about the budgetary situation in Northern Ireland and the impact that potential overspends in other Departments could have on my Department. It is important to have fiscal discipline in Northern Ireland, and, when you are given a budget, you should stick to it.”
“Money for the just transition fund for agriculture is something that I bid for from the UK Government last year. We were not successful, so I engaged with the Finance Minister, and we got £12 million this year. I want to see funding for a just transition increased, not just to tackle climate change but to tackle wider environmental issues such as our water and air quality.”