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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“I thank the Member for her question. There are many good examples of that in Northern Ireland, which are fantastic to see. The future farm support programme will be a key element. I want to work with farmers to see what we can do in this area. It will be difficult for some farmers, while it will be attractive to others. We need to deal with generational issues, and how we can facilitate farmers who want to hand on their land to younger family members. Those are key issues. The farming community are the custodians of the countryside, and we need to work with them to achieve our targets in this area.”
“<BR /> <BR />The Department's farm support and development programme includes a farming with nature package, which is under development. It is anticipated that that package will offer support to farmers to plant small areas of trees and to plant trees in existing and new hedgerows. The Department's plans to increase the rate of afforestation are being prepared and will be included in Northern Ireland's climate action plan.”
“<BR /> <BR />The Department continues to work in collaboration with a number of councils and public bodies, such as Northern Ireland Water, to encourage the afforestation of available publicly owned land. The Department has commenced a programme of stakeholder engagement with the forest industry and landowner representatives to jointly consider measures that can be taken to further increase afforestation. The Department is considering a number of policy options aimed at increasing the level of afforestation. Those include new grant mechanisms to incentivise landowners to plant woodland for carbon capture; sustainable timber production, which contributes to jobs and our economy; water quality protection; environmental and habitat enhancement; and public access for health and well-being.”
“With your permission, Mr Speaker, I will answer questions 3, 6, 8 and 9 together. Trees are a very popular topic today, which is good to see. <BR /> <BR />My Department has done a number of things to achieve its target of planting 18 million trees by 2030. It has revised its forest expansion grant scheme by lowering the minimum area threshold for eligibility to the scheme. In addition, it introduced a new small woodland grant scheme in December 2020, aimed particularly at attracting native woodland projects for a wide range of applicants, including smaller landowners. The Department also supports the forest expansion grant scheme and the small woodland grant scheme with around £3 million annually in grant payments.”
“I thank the Member for what is a constructive question. That is something that we need to consider for a future farm support and development programme. The reality is that climate change is affecting all of Northern Ireland, and, unfortunately, is here to stay. We need to be able to build resilience in our agriculture sector, and initiatives such as what you have outlined can be considered in future. Budget is key to it.”
“<BR /> <BR />On preparedness for exceptional weather events, my officials continue to engage and collaborate with government and agency partners, through such fora as the Northern Ireland flood strategy steering group and the regional community resilience group, to ensure that our collective response to, and recovery from, adverse weather is efficient, effective and targeted.”
“The key objective of my Department's approach through the new farm support and development programme is to encourage farm businesses to better manage risk in their own businesses, to become more resilient and to be better prepared to cope with such situations as bad weather. A crisis framework is being developed under the programme. It will enable my Department to assess potential industry impacts, such as weather or market failure, and determine the most appropriate timing and form of intervention necessary for a specific crisis. That will involve setting out trigger points, such as scale of impact or market price reductions, to inform the operation of the framework. I look forward to receiving a briefing on the work that has been done to date from officials.”
“I thank the Member for her question and for her engagement with our officials in relation to potato growers. As Minister, I have to satisfy myself on the use of public funds and the tests associated with that. I am also conscious of the budget situation, and my Department looks forward to receiving support from Members to improve that situation. I am keen to support the horticulture sector, but I need to be able to satisfy myself on the use of public funds and on the budget cover for the issue. I am aware that ministerial directions have been issued around the issue previously, but, as a former member of the Public Accounts Committee, I am also conscious of the threshold that needs to be reached. It is important that we lobby the UK Government for a UK-wide support scheme.”
“I can. I raised the matter with Minister Steve Baker last Wednesday, whilst in London. I outlined the critical nature of the issue. We have had a few days of good weather, but the forecast for the days ahead is not great, and I am aware that that is a real issue of concern. I am also aware that the Irish Government have brought forward a support scheme. However, what we need here is UK Government intervention, because this is of such enormity that it requires the UK Government to step up.”
“That work has been completed, but it did not support a change in the conclusion.”
“<BR /> <BR />A financial support scheme for potato growers affected by last year's flooding in the counties of Armagh and Down has been rigorously examined by DAERA. A business case was developed to test the need for, and value for money of, a potential support package and to look at what the net additional NI economy impact might be. However, the conclusion of that process was that government intervention was not likely to meet the threshold associated with 'Managing Public Money' that is required to justify and authorise that expenditure. For that reason, DAERA has not implemented a support scheme. <BR /> <BR />I previously advised Members of my intention to review the impact of the flooding event. As part of my review, I instructed officials to undertake inspections of fields that were identified as being subject to flooding.”
“I thank the Member for her question. I recognise that 2023 was a challenging year for potato growers, and that our very wet and late spring of 2024 is now negatively impacting on farming operations across almost every sector in the industry. I am conscious of what the wider impact will be if wet weather continues in the weeks ahead and have therefore made representations to the UK Government about the need for central government intervention if the situation does not improve. <BR /> <BR />In the meantime, I encourage all farmers who are seeking advice on management of their farming operations during this ongoing poor weather to contact the College of Agriculture, Food and Rural Enterprise (CAFRE) through their local CAFRE adviser.”
“I thank the Member for his question. There are three parts to it, and the key issue is whether the Secretary of State has issued a direction to civil servants. I am not aware that any direction has been given, but, for further information, I advise the Member to follow up with the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. A key issue around the matter relates to the costs arising from it and whether compensation is forthcoming. I am not aware whether DEFRA has been considering that. I know that it is an issue of concern; it is a concern for me.”
“I thank the Member for his question. Again, I must outline to Members how this falls under the direction and control of the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs under the Windsor Framework (Implementation) Regulations 2024. He is the key person involved, so to do that would require him to apply for regionalisation.”
“I thank the Member for her question. I am not aware of anything further that DEFRA is considering, but I hear from many people in the industry that there is a real concern to ensure that bluetongue does not come into Northern Ireland. That is the first focus among people here from a farming background.”
“As Members will be aware, as a result of confirmed cases of bluetongue virus serotype 3 in England, the trade in all live ruminants from Great Britain to Northern Ireland has been restricted. The area in the question asked falls under the direction and control of the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, as provided for in regulation 3 of the Windsor Framework (Implementation) Regulations 2024. There are 19 areas that fall under the direction and control of the Secretary of State, and I intend to lodge more details about those in the Assembly Library and also to publish them on the Assembly website.”
“I thank Members for their contributions and the Business Committee for scheduling the debate. This is important legislation. It is progressive, and it is an example of what the Assembly can do when we work together. I was glad to move the motion today.”
“They include a requirement for them to give regard to articles that are reusable when they are putting their arrangements in place. There is growing interest in reusable period products, which have the potential to reduce the environmental impact of single-use items. They might include, for example, menstrual cups and reusable period pants. Our specified public service bodies will be carrying out their own consultation exercises with product users in due course after the regulations commence, with reusable products being part of that process, and I thank them for their cooperation thus far. <BR /> <BR />I thank the Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs Committee for its prompt scrutiny of the SL1 for this regulation.”
“The Executive Office is progressing section 1 of the Act to require period products to be obtainable free of charge to all persons who need to use them. It is working with a delivery partner to ensure that free period products are publicly available to anyone who needs them across Northern Ireland from 13 May 2024. Access to period products should be universally available, as is the case for many other basic hygiene products. It is important that people have access to the products in a dignified and confidential way. <BR /> <BR />My Department is liaising with DAERA's specified public service bodies, namely the Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute, the Livestock and Meat Commission and the Northern Ireland Fishery Harbour Authority as to how these regulations will be implemented at their various premises throughout Northern Ireland.”
“Today, I am seeking the Assembly's approval of the Period Products (Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs Specified Public Service Bodies) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2024. It is a privilege for me to be able to introduce these regulations, part of a journey that began with the private Member's Bill that was brought by former SDLP MLA Pat Catney and subsequently became the Period Products (Free Provision) Act (Northern Ireland) 2022 to create a legal right of free access to items such as tampons and sanitary pads. The Act places importance on respect for dignity and aims to remove financial barriers to accessing period products. <BR /> <BR />These regulations relate to the Department's section 2 duties under the Act to meet an individual's needs while they are on specified public service bodies' premises.”
“I am aware of the challenges that are associated with that, and I have had lots of correspondence about it. I get a variety of correspondence on the matter, and a significant number of people are concerned to ensure that bluetongue does not get into Northern Ireland. I know that restrictions on movement have associated financial hardships, but, as Minister, I need to ensure that we keep bluetongue out of Northern Ireland.”
“It is my desire to do that, but, as a result of the punishment Budget that the Secretary of State inflicted on Northern Ireland, during this financial year, my permanent secretary had to get us to live within the required budget limits. As a result, the testing regime was reduced, which had a real consequence. A fundamental thing that we need to be able to do is go back to where the testing was previously. Hopefully, if I get the correct settlement, the budget for next year will enable us to do that.”
“That falls under the complementary fund and sits in my Department. It is progressing well, and I am happy to meet the Member about it to see what more we can do. It is an area that has real potential not just for Bangor but for Newtownards.”
“That brings together statutory and non-statutory agencies and interested parties with the common goal of combating wildlife crime through education and publicity. Whilst the Clandeboye estate is a private estate, my officials are not aware of any reports of listed offences that would require additional protections for the estate's fallow deer herd. Any concerns should be reported immediately to the police.”
“I know that the Member raised the issue with me previously and that it is a matter of concern. The Department has some powers over it, but it goes back to councils. Fallow deer are protected across Northern Ireland under the Wildlife (Northern Ireland) Order 1985, which makes it an offence to kill, injure or take the species during a specified closed season or at night. It also prohibits the use of certain firearms and ammunition to shoot deer. Additionally, it is an offence to take or remove any live deer or to mark or attach tags to them. The Police Service of Northern Ireland enforces the Wildlife (Northern Ireland) Order 1985. <BR /> <BR />My officials in the Northern Ireland Environment Agency, working closely with the PSNI, jointly chair the partnership for action against wildlife crime in Northern Ireland.”
“<BR /> <BR />This is fundamental, but we need the UK Government to understand the unique circumstances of Northern Ireland and to ensure that our funding settlement reflects them. Let us be clear about this: for every £1 that is spent in England, Scotland gets about £1·45, while we get about £1·21. There is a problem there, and, as a result, we are not able to pay people the correct salary.”
“I am very conscious of the issue as our headcount for vets is significantly below what we need in Northern Ireland. I discussed it last week with my permanent secretary. I will have to engage with the Department of Finance on that because we will need to be able to attract and retain the best talent that we can. We have fantastic people working with us, but we need more people to come on board. I spoke to my counterpart in the South, Charlie McConalogue, about how people are leaving Northern Ireland to go to the South because of the better pay and terms and conditions that are there. That is not unique to my Department; it is also an issue for the Department of Health and the Department of Education.”
“I thank the Member for her question. I talked with the Ulster Farmers' Union about this at a recent meeting, and I have been engaging with veterinary colleagues on it. I want to be able to move on that matter without any delay.”
“I am aware of those issues. There has been correspondence, including questions for written answer, about the matter. If the Member is free this afternoon, I am happy to meet her about that and see what more we can do. Public safety must be the priority of every Minister.”
“I thank the Member for her question. It is important that where there are issues that need a collaborative approach, we take one. Lough Neagh will, hopefully, be the example of how we do that. The way in which government in Northern Ireland is structured, with each Department being legally separate, can be a barrier in that regard. Financing can also become an issue: each Department holds its own budget. However, I will not hold back on wanting to work with other Departments on myriad issues, whether it is Lough Neagh, coastal erosion, climate change or so many others. Together, we can achieve a lot more.”
“I thank the Member for her question. I was alongside her at an event with Community Advice Ards and North Down. It was concerning to see that the pace that should be associated with an anti-poverty strategy is not occurring. I will write to the Minister about the need to urgently progress that. It is a matter of shame on government in Northern Ireland that people are forced into poverty. We need to find a way forward. We need the anti-poverty strategy to progress without any delay whatsoever.”
“My Department is also leading on the Northern Ireland food strategy framework, which proposes a new whole-of-government approach to food in Northern Ireland. That new collaborative approach is about government working together to deliver better outcomes for the people of Northern Ireland. I look forward to receiving a briefing from my officials on the food strategy framework and how my Department can work with other Departments to address the fundamental issue of food poverty.”
“Primary responsibility for addressing poverty rests with the Department for Communities. It is, however, anticipated that the forthcoming anti-poverty strategy will make specific reference to food poverty and insecurity. Food poverty is a multifaceted issue. It is recognised that no single Department has all the policy tools required to address it and that it is not simply a financial issue. A cross-departmental approach will be required when agreeing actions to address the issue, and it will seek to link to all relevant strategies, including the food strategy framework. <BR /> <BR />My Department provides assistance in areas such as the redistribution of surplus food through organisations such as FareShare, as well as providing a subsidised school milk scheme to contribute to efforts to alleviate food poverty.”
“I thank the Member for her supplementary. I would be delighted to do so. Many examples of community intervention are taking place here. With a small amount of grant funding, they are able to achieve quite a lot, not just on forestry cover but in bringing benefits to the local community. I would be delighted to get along to Hunts Park, an area that is being revitalised as a result of that work. I am very keen to take up that offer.”
“I thank the Member for her question. Tree planting is quite important to me and to tackling climate change. Increasing the area of forest and woodland is a key challenge and focus for my Department. We need to significantly accelerate the annual planting rates so that forest and woodland reach 12% of land area by 2050: it is currently at 8·6%. I intend to take that forward as a critical element of DAERA's contribution to climate change mitigation and the legislative obligations for a balanced pathway to net zero carbon emissions by 2050. <BR /> <BR />In line with the Climate Change Committee's (CCC) recommendation, the Department launched its 10-year Forests for Our Future programme for 2020 to 2030, which aims to plant 9,000 hectares of new woodland over that period.”
“I am happy to consider the Member's invite. Obviously, if there is an ongoing investigation and enforcement action, we need to tread carefully. I am happy to speak to the Member outside the Chamber today on any particular issues that he may have.”
“I understand the Member's question and the concerns that local residents will have on that issue. District councils are often the bodies with responsibility for enforcement in that area. If there are particular concerns, I ask the Member to write to me, and we can correspond and see what we can do about them.”
“I do not want to prejudge what it will say, and the action plan that we hope to launch next month will give a bit more information on that, but the interventions will require funding. Many people have been in correspondence with my Department to bring forward technical solutions or suggestions, which we are evaluating as well. However, there are key fundamentals, such as agricultural run-off, waste-water infrastructure and septic tanks, that we will need to take action on. I am very keen that we do that through a process where we bring people with us, through education and incentives, but, ultimately, enforcement will be required because those who are polluting our waterways need to stop.”
“There are two aspects to that. The Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI) has done a research study to give statistical evidence on what is contributing to the situation. We have rough percentages about what is contributing to the issues in Lough Neagh. The initiative that you referred to will be a two-year study to find scientific interventions that could happen on Lough Neagh. That feeds into the idea that there are no quick wins on this issue, but we are using everything that we can to find a way forward.”
“The data indicated that the intervention had little effect on the badger population size. That, combined with GPS recordings and badger genotyping, consistently showed no increased movement of badgers, which indicated that trap-side testing was a viable intervention. It is very important to note that although valuable field data and deployment experience was gained through the project results, it was not intended to evidence the effectiveness of TVR as a means of reducing TB in cattle.”
“In total, 1,520 badger captures were made, and 146 of those tested positive for bovine TB from the sett-side, dual-path platform blood test, which equates to 10·3% of total tests. Over the course of the project, 781 unique badgers were vaccinated at least once, while 108 infected badgers were euthanised in years 2 to 5.”
“The test and vaccinate or remove — TVR — research project was carried out over five years between 2014 and 2018. The project sought to capture badgers, test them for TB and then vaccinate those with negative results or remove those infected with the disease. It encompassed an area of approximately 100 square kilometres near Banbridge in County Down. During the project, 824 unique badgers were captured, some of which were captured and tested more than once.”
“We all know the issues affecting Lough Neagh. There is a significant issue with agricultural run-off; there is the issue of waste water infrastructure, which we have just talked about; there is the issue of ageing septic tanks; zebra mussels are contributing to the issue; and we have climate change. It will require extremely difficult decisions to turn this situation around. I am up for playing my role on this, but it will also require a cross-governmental approach, working in conjunction with non-governmental organisations, to see a way forward. The scenes from last year at Lough Neagh are very likely to occur again this year. We have already had two reports of blue-green algae at Lough Neagh. The situation is as it has presented itself to me, but I am prepared to provide the leadership to steer a course out of this.”
“I thank the Member for his question. Zebra mussels are part of a mix of problems that affect Lough Neagh, and, as I said, this month, I hope to launch an environmental improvement plan for Northern Ireland. That reflects the fact that it is not just the soil and bed of Lough Neagh that are affected; it is the catchment area that is going into Lough Neagh that is causing those issues. We need to launch the strategy, and hopefully the Executive will support me at the next meeting so that I can get that progressed. I hope to launch an action plan in April associated with Lough Neagh. Currently, there are about 100 areas of recommendations. We are distilling those down, and hopefully we will be able to progress those next month. <BR /> <BR />It is not that we are moving slowly on this. We are moving as fast as we can.”
“I thank the Member for her question. I have concerns about the levels of overspills and the fact that we do not have reliable data on when that is occurring, and I will seek a meeting with Northern Ireland Water to discuss that. The issue of waste water infrastructure in Northern Ireland is concerning. It is not fit for purpose, and we are polluting our environment day after day on many occasions because the system is not up to scratch. We are also inhibiting housebuilding and economic development in Northern Ireland, and, as an Executive, we need to face up to that and ensure that we make the capital investment to ensure that we are not polluting our waterways.”
“Due to the bioaccumulative and persistent nature of those forever chemicals, they are present in waterways across the world. They were detected at all monitored stations and resulted in the failures of all those stations. Those failures were extrapolated to all water bodies, and, hence, no surface water body achieved "Good" chemical status. It is an area of priority for me, and, if I get the chance at Question Time today, I have a few more things that I would like to say about Lough Neagh.”
“I thank the Member for her question. When I met Charlie McConalogue, the Minister in the South, two weeks ago, we talked about that, because there are learnings that we can take from European Union policy on how we can ensure that our environmental standards are good in Northern Ireland. The 'State of Our Rivers' report was concerning but, sadly, not surprising reading on Northern Ireland. The Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) published the 'Water Framework Directive Statistics Report' in December 2021, which included the information that no river water bodies in Northern Ireland achieved overall "Good" status. At the time, my officials explained that that was due to the inclusion of so-called forever chemicals in the assessment.”
“Before bringing the third-cycle river basin management plan to the Executive, I will need time to consider the outworkings of other relevant reports, for example, from the Office for Environmental Protection (OEP), that are due to be published in the near future, as well as the water quality review on Lough Neagh. <BR /> <BR />Additionally, I am keen to hear the views of key stakeholders, while being mindful of our budgetary position, to determine the most appropriate course of action for the river basin management plan. My vision is to have an environment where our water bodies are at "Good" status or better and support biodiversity and contribute to the health and well-being of everyone.”
“I thank the Member for her question. I am aware that water quality is not what it should be — that is a bit of an understatement, frankly. Work to improve the water quality of rivers will require collective action across government, the public and private sectors and wider society. I intend to bring the draft environmental improvement plan to the Executive for consideration later this month. <BR /> <BR />The plan, the first for Northern Ireland, lays out my commitment to improving water quality. As well as the environmental improvement plan, my Department has other related statutory obligations, including the requirement to publish and update a river basin management plan. This takes an integrated approach to the protection, improvement and sustainable use of the water environment.”
“I thank the Member for his question. The rural micro capital grant scheme will make small capital grants available to rural community and voluntary groups to purchase capital items that enhance and/or provide new services that can help to alleviate poverty, reduce isolation and improve health and well-being in their local community. This is a bottom-up approach that allows the applicant organisations to determine what they require to enhance provision of activities in their local area.”