Edwin Poots
South Belfast · Democratic Unionist Party · Northern Ireland
“I call Mr Eóin Tennyson. Again, this is Mr Tennyson's first opportunity to speak as a private Member, so I remind the House that it is convention that a maiden speech be made without interruption. However, if you choose to express views that provoke an interruption, you are likely to forfeit that protection.”
“Sorry — Ms Armstrong. My apologies. <BR /> <BR />That the Assembly could, in some way, get that money out when it is a UK Government responsibility. The UK Government have distributed it directly in Scotland and Wales, not through the Welsh Parliament and not through the Scottish Parliament.”
“I have not got time; I am sorry. <BR /> <BR />Ursula von der Leyen, who was in the Republic last week, made some of the most ridiculous claims about the British Government, who have supported Ukraine in a way that no other Government in Europe have and who have never engaged in the activity that was suggested by Ursula von der Leyen.”
“Today, a lot of statements have been made but there has not been a lot of fact behind a lot of what has been said. We have Michelle O'Neill, who walked out of her role as Health Minister — not for six months but for three years — and abandoned her position when we had Bengoa and there were all the problems with nursing that led to the str…”
“I need to deal with the issues first. <BR /> <BR />He referred to the Budget that he produced. No party supported that Budget. The Alliance Party did not support it, because it did not cover policing and prisons. Infrastructure did not support it, because it would not allow it to do the basics of what had to be done.”
“We had a circumstance where Sinn Féin repeated, month after month after month, that there were hundreds of millions to give to the public when that did not exist and when, in reality, Minister Murphy was racking up debt that will roll into next year, which will ensure that that will be a difficult financial year.”
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“We will require significant capital investment for our environment over the next number of years. The Member identified something that will not be led by my Department, but it will certainly be monitored by it. We, as a Department, will seek to ensure that Northern Ireland Water takes the actions that are necessary to avoid the circumstances described by the Member.”
“The Member is right. Of course, she represents a particularly beautiful part of Northern Ireland. The two loughs — Upper Lough Erne and Lower Lough Erne — are very precious assets to not just County Fermanagh but all of us. The protection of facilities such as, although not exclusively, the water bodies in Fermanagh is critical. <BR /> <BR />Our sewerage infrastructure has been challenged because, in many areas, much of the waste infrastructure is linked to storm infrastructure. The consequence is that, when we get heavy rain, storm water goes into the sewage, and that ends up, untreated, in a water body somewhere. It is incumbent on Northern Ireland Water to continue with a programme that will deal with those areas. Of course, the sensitive areas should be dealt with first. It is a critical issue that requires investment.”
“I encourage colleagues across the border to engage in that spirit of cooperation.”
“It is incredibly important that people work together in how they manage things and to ensure that they crack down on people who engage in criminality. During my period as Environment Minister from 2009 to 2011, I worked with ministerial colleagues in the Irish Republic to, for example, ensure that the waste that came to Northern Ireland via criminals was repatriated. It was something of a shock when I came back to the Department and found that that had not been progressed; a number of the illegal landfill sites had been cleared, but a lot of the waste had not been repatriated. I have raised that issue on quite a number of occasions with my colleagues in the Republic of Ireland, but it still has not been resolved. The Member is absolutely right: we need to see a better spirit of cooperation on these issues.”
“Our environment affects every aspect of our existence. It is central to all life: what we do, what we eat, how we work, and where we live and play. It is, unquestionably, our most precious asset. The strategy sets out plans for protecting our local environment by making sustainable living central to every aspect of our lives in the coming decades. As I said at the outset, the environment strategy will be a key pillar of green growth. I commend it to you.”
“The strategy that I am consulting on is ambitious in its breadth and depth. It contains about 50 key actions and targets, with timescales between 2022 and 2050.”
“If we all play our part and are ambitious with our plans, we can make a thriving and sustainable environment a reality and demonstrate leadership on this crucial issue. <BR /> <BR />The environment strategy aims to focus on ambitious outcomes for the big environmental issues that face us, which will make a difference to the lives and well-being of current and future generations.”
“and, subject to Assembly approval, it will require DAERA and other NI Departments to set out the steps that they intend to take to improve the natural environment. Adopting the strategy as Northern Ireland’s first EIP will give it legal underpinning, meaning that there will be a statutory requirement for ongoing reporting and monitoring against the targets and objectives on an annual basis. <BR /> <BR />As we emerge into the post-COVID-19 world, outside the European Union, we need, more than ever, to be prepared to face the environmental challenges of tomorrow. Every one of us, collectively and individually, has an important role in how we manage, preserve and protect our local environment.”
“My Department previously launched a call for evidence in September 2019 by way of a public discussion document. The level of public interest in the environment was evidenced by the fact that, at the end of the extended discussion period, in February 2020, no fewer than 2,500 stakeholder responses had been received. <BR /> <BR />As I mentioned at the start of my statement, my Executive colleagues have approved my intention to designate the final version of the strategy as Northern Ireland’s first environmental improvement plan under the UK's Environment Bill. The Bill defines an EIP as:”
“My Executive colleagues and I will work to ensure that Northern Ireland has the necessary resources to tackle the significant environmental challenges that we face. <BR /> <BR />It is a truism that we cannot make the necessary urgent progress on the environment alone. My officials have been working with key stakeholders, including other Departments and external bodies, to develop the premise that a better environment can provide great economic, social and health benefits for individuals and society and to outline a pathway to realising those benefits. I look forward to that engagement continuing during the course of the consultation and beyond as we move to implement the final strategy. <BR /> <BR />The launch of the draft strategy will not be the first public engagement in relation to an environment strategy.”
“The following examples give just a flavour of those actions: protecting 30% of our land and water for nature by 2030; conserving or restoring all of our semi-natural peatlands to healthy, functioning ecosystems by 2040; publishing the final river basin management plans next year; increasing the highly successful carrier bag levy to 25p; increasing the maximum fine for littering to £200; and applying for DAERA to become the world’s first eco-Department. <BR /> <BR />The strategy will be an open-ended, living document that will be supported by a series of action plans. There will, of course, be costs associated with many of the proposed actions to achieve the critical outcomes, which will require adequate funding through a variety of mechanisms.”
“They provide us with a framework to foster environmental awareness and engagement through education and to live in harmony with our environment, which provides us with a home, a livelihood and somewhere to relax. In short, the strategy is a guide to how we can preserve, protect and improve our environment for our children and our grandchildren. <BR /> <BR />The framework of the six key outcomes of the strategy includes many concrete actions.”
“The six outcomes are: excellent air, water, land and neighbourhood quality; a healthy and accessible environment and landscapes that everyone can connect with and enjoy; thriving, resilient and connected nature and wildlife; sustainable production and consumption on land and at sea; zero waste and a highly developed circular economy; and a fair contribution to UK net zero greenhouse gas emissions and improved climate resilience and adaptability <BR /> <BR />Those outcomes will form the basis of how Northern Ireland faces up to the challenges of improving our environment and our ability to connect with, understand and enjoy that environment in a responsible way.”
“However, it is clear to everyone, not least to me, that more needs to be done — and with urgency. Northern Ireland’s first environment strategy will form the basis of a coherent and effective set of interventions that can deliver real improvements to the quality of our environment and thereby improve the health and well-being of all who live and work here, create opportunities to develop our economy, elevate Northern Ireland to be an environmental leader and enable us to play our part in protecting the global environment for many decades to come. <BR /> <BR />The strategy sets out six strategic environmental outcomes that encompass all the main environmental challenges that we will face in the coming decades.”
“Northern Ireland faces a range of local environmental challenges, including habitat and species loss, agricultural greenhouse gas emissions, climate change, waste management, the development of a circular economy, soil quality, air quality and waste crime. In addition, the United Kingdom's withdrawal from the European Union has provided new environmental opportunities. As environmental degradation poses an increasing challenge to all parts of the globe, there is a clear impetus for the first long-term, overarching environment strategy for Northern Ireland. <BR /> <BR />In the past decade we have made some notable advances in tackling local environmental issues. Perhaps foremost in the public's mind are the successful introduction of the carrier bag levy and the remarkable rise in our household recycling rates to 50% in 2019-2020.”
“We are part of the natural environment and have a significant vested interest in accelerating policy and action to safeguard and restore our nature and biodiversity for the health and prosperity of current and future generations. As shown at COP26, our reliance on Northern Ireland's natural capital and ecosystems to provide nature-based solutions cannot be overstated. We need to protect and invest in nature now to start reaping the benefits and avoid the much higher costs of habitat loss and restoration if we leave it until later to act. We need to act now. <BR /> <BR />I am committed to delivering for nature and climate, and I recognise the importance of meeting COP26 commitments and those emerging from next year's COP15 on biodiversity.”
“Key aspects that we will want to include are clean air, clean water, healthy soil and beautiful places to visit and enjoy, which benefit our physical and mental health. <BR /> <BR />The strategy will provide a coherent response to the global challenges of climate change and biodiversity loss to be addressed by the COP15 Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) meeting in 2022 and the COP26 climate change summit in Glasgow, which, as we are all aware, is bringing international parties together to accelerate action on climate change. <BR /> <BR />My time at COP26 confirmed to me that climate change and biodiversity loss are inextricably linked. The evidence is clear that the state of our natural environment and its capacity to sustain us have been compromised.”
“The strategy links into the longer-term strategic objectives in our developing Programme for Government and aims to build on work that has been done across a wide range of policy areas, taking as its starting point the commitment in the draft outcome:”
“Furthermore, subject to Executive approval, the Minister for the Economy plans to launch a new energy strategy before the end of 2021 that will outline the path to achieving net zero carbon energy in a way that is clean, secure and affordable. Taken together, the key strategies show my and my Executive colleagues' commitment to a future that addresses our significant climate and nature challenges whilst facilitating sustainable economic progress. <BR /> <BR />The environment strategy includes a mix of existing and new environmental targets and objectives for all Northern Ireland Departments that have a role in improving the environment.”
“I intend to adopt the final version of the strategy as Northern Ireland's first environmental improvement plan (EIP) under the UK Environment Bill. As I will outline to Members shortly, DAERA, on behalf of the Executive, is leading on developing the overarching, multi-decade green growth strategy. The environment strategy is intended to be a key document setting out Northern Ireland's environmental priorities for the coming decades, and it will be a key pillar in the delivery of green growth. <BR /> <BR />I also plan to consult shortly on a future agriculture policy framework that will have environmental sustainability as one of its key outcomes.”
“Meeting and dealing with those challenges can be achieved only through global cooperation in tandem with local grassroots initiatives. We all have a responsibility to meet the challenges, and it is incumbent on all of us to protect and preserve our local environment as we strive to protect and preserve our planet for future generations. <BR /> <BR />Against that background, I am delighted say that, following Executive endorsement, I will launch a formal public consultation on a draft environment strategy for Northern Ireland on Thursday 11 November. The strategy sets out a vision for the future of Northern Ireland's environment and the Executive's role in dealing with the challenges that we face.”
“Action is required if we are to realistically respond to the challenges of climate change, the destruction of habitats, the loss of biodiversity and the impacts of pollution on land and at sea, including plastic pollution.”
“Thank you, Mr Speaker. With your permission, I wish to make a statement to the Assembly regarding Northern Ireland’s first overarching environment strategy. <BR /> <BR />It is no exaggeration to say that never before have we faced such environmental challenges as those that confront us today. On a global scale, our world is under unprecedented pressure from population growth, the impact of fossil fuels and unsustainable living. The impacts of climate change, such as rising sea levels, droughts and wildfires, pose a real risk to our communities and livelihoods across the world. Locally, our environment is under threat from pollution in its many forms.”
“This is a reprehensible trade, and a relatively small number of people are making themselves millionaires out of it. We need to clamp down very hard on that trade and ensure that we do not become the conduit for poorly reared puppies from the Republic of Ireland to Great Britain. I really do not want to see that happening. It is happening, and I want to see it stopped.”
“Frankly, the issues that were brought to light in the 'Spotlight' programme were pretty depressing. I have been working closely with Robin Newton on Lucy's law, and I hope that the private Member's Bill could be completed before the end of this term. If not, I hope that the evidence that has been presented in relation to it will be taken forward by DAERA as a priority in the new term.”
“I do not have a further update on that issue for the Member.”
“That is absolutely no problem. There is a series of pieces of work, and I illustrated three of those. There are more than that, but I illustrated those three to demonstrate that we are taking it seriously. I am happy to correspond with the Member in order to give her the full detail in a written format so that she can study that.”
“We have done a piece of work on the plastic bag levy, and that is, I understand, with the Committee at this stage. We will be bringing forward something very significant on that within the government estate. We have done a piece of work on eliminating around nine of the most common single-use plastics. We are also looking at a deposit-return scheme (DRS). We have to decide whether to go with our own scheme or a scheme that is more closely associated with the one in England. We are looking at all those issues to ensure that, as far as possible, we do away with single-use plastics. I certainly desire that to be the case.”
“I had a conversation with Minister Eustice today and on Saturday about a lot of those issues. We will continue to engage at that high level with the UK Government to ensure that we get the best possible outcome for producers and consumers in Northern Ireland. Ultimately, that is our role. Given that we are in here and have those opportunities, we are speaking to the highest level of the UK Government in order to get those things resolved. We have waited quite some time for that to happen. I sincerely hope that we do not have to wait much longer to get those issues resolved, because it has been extremely difficult for small businesses across Northern Ireland to make a living, many of which are family-owned and have, in addition to themselves, only one or two workers. We want to ensure that that becomes somewhat easier for them.”
“I am concerned for the organic farming community. Its output is relatively small, in Northern Ireland terms, but it is an important community. As a consequence of its being a small sector, there are no local suppliers for much of its product and organic producers have to go elsewhere to import. Therein lies the problem, because, traditionally, most of that importation has come from Great Britain, and costs have gone up exponentially. That area has been damaged, again, as a consequence of the protocol. We therefore want to try to ensure that we can get the appropriate relaxations put in place so that they can conduct their business in a way that is not too dissimilar from how it was conducted previous to the protocol.”
“No, I do not accept that, because I get complaints from agri-food producers continually about the protocol. They want trade arrangements between the UK and the European Union that will allow a relatively free flow of trade with appropriate checks. They want an entirely free flow of trade between Northern Ireland and Great Britain, and Great Britain and Northern Ireland. They want to ensure that they provide security for the single market for the European Union. We are more than willing to work on that with the European Union in order to ensure the integrity of the single market is upheld, but that does not involve the current protocol, which is punitive, harsh and damaging to the Northern Ireland economy, consumers and constituents who the Member represents.”
“I have spoken to senior people in Sainsbury's and Tesco recently. They have committed to buying products that meet certain environmental standards. For example, they will not be buying products from areas in which there is deforestation. In areas where there is no reduction in greenhouse gases, carbon and so forth, again, there will be issues. Those places and countries that want to produce things to low environmental standards will find it very difficult to market their products, particularly in this jurisdiction, because the main buyers will not want to acquire those products.”
“<BR /> <BR />People who want us to do nothing and go to wilding would ensure that our biodiversity is ruined entirely. Some of the most damaging things to the ground-nesting birds in that area are crows and foxes, but some people suggest that we do not do anything to manage that. I am sorry: if you want genuine biodiversity, you have to engage in steps to ensure that it happens. People introduced grey squirrels to Northern Ireland because they are nice, cute, fluffy things. As a consequence, we lost most of our red squirrels. It is not a simple thing; it is a complex thing, but we can make significant achievement on it, and I am very determined that we do so.”
“The key measure on biodiversity is the biodiversity strategy. The environment strategy cleared its last hurdle through the Executive on Thursday, and, with the Speaker's permission, I will present it to the Assembly tomorrow. There is also the green growth strategy. The biodiversity strategy, which we are working on, and the ammonia strategy will help on that issue. <BR /> <BR />Biodiversity involves management. If the Member wants to see biodiversity in action, he should go to Glenwherry, where we have undertaken a course of work with the RSPB. As a consequence of that project, we are seeing more hen harriers, curlew, red grouse etc. That is as a result of quality management of the environment in that area. Delivering that has engaged both the farming community and the RSPB.”
“Over the course of my time in Government, you will see that there has been a series of actions taken to ensure that we leave the environment in a better state than we found it.”
“I will leave the Member to ask the questions of Sammy when he gets the opportunity to do so. I represent the Department and my party in the Department, and we recognise that we all need to do considerably better on the environment than has been the case in the past. We need to do more in all areas, whether that is how much carbon or greenhouse gases that we produce — and the necessary reductions that we have to ensure happen — air quality, water quality or biodiversity. That is why one of the first things that I did was to set out the Forests for Our Future initiative and, more recently, the pollinator scheme to protect our bees. In between, we made support available for farms to invest in low-emission slurry spreading equipment (LESSE) to reduce ammonia.”
“The Member is right: they are unscrupulous actions, and more needs to be done in that regard. I have impressed upon my officials the unacceptability of that trade and the fact that they need to stretch themselves in ensuring that they clamp down as hard as possible on individuals who are engaging in all sorts of things to circumvent the rules and the law and making considerable money from that very lucrative trade. I also encourage people in Great Britain and at home who are buying pets to do more to check the source of their pet because they could be buying a cute little bundle of fluff that has not been well reared or received the appropriate veterinary vaccinations, and so forth. Consequently, they could be buying themselves heartbreak. I do not think that any family deserves that.”
“As a result of collaborative working, there have been multiple interceptions this year, most recently when 10 springer spaniel pups were found hidden in Larne in a van that was bound for England. <BR /> <BR />I acknowledge that much more needs to be actioned on the matter, and I will continue to press for that to happen.”
“The illegal breeding and trading of low-welfare puppies is an abhorrent practice that, working in conjunction with other agencies, my Department continues to disrupt. <BR /> <BR />It is very difficult to establish the number of people who choose to operate in contravention of dog breeding legislation in Northern Ireland. Intelligence provided to my officials indicates that the breeding of low-welfare pups often takes place outside Northern Ireland. Regrettably, those animals are then illegally imported into Northern Ireland and trafficked via our ports to more lucrative markets in Great Britain. <BR /> <BR />My Department is well aware of the pattern of movements. In response to the problem, it has established and coordinated activity at the ports under the Paws for Thought initiative.”
“Again, the matter is before Justice Scoffield, so I am not going to get involved in details that a noble judge might decide on. It was rather juvenile of the Member and his colleagues to pull down this institution for three years and deny people the opportunity to deal with health, education and infrastructure and so many other issues, causing real harm to all the public of Northern Ireland as a consequence of their actions.”
“As that is a matter that is currently before the courts, I do not wish to comment.”
“As the matter is ongoing, I am unable to provide a cost at this time, but I will be happy to do so when one is available.”
“We need to pull all those strategies together. They need to have connectivity. The strategy on green growth and the environment strategy, which I hope to talk about tomorrow, will all help us to pull together the various areas we need to address here in Northern Ireland and ensure that we go forward on our best foot. That is ultimately very important to us.”
“<BR /> <BR />The Government's aim is to get more people out of unemployment and into work, and that is a reasonable aim. It has proven to be particularly tricky when it comes to the food sector. There is availability of considerable numbers of people from other places, including the Philippines, and we can get people from those areas should the UK Government decide that that is a policy they wish to engage. We have been seeking to encourage that because it helps to sustain industry, certainly in this interim period. They have opened the doors for an additional 800 workers to come through. I am just after having a phone call with George Eustice. We hope to get a reasonable number of those people through for December, which will help to alleviate some of the pressures on our food processing sector.”
“I thank the Member for his question. Yes, there has been that stop of new EU workers coming here. Of course, those who are here are welcome to stay, and those who returned home during COVID are welcome to come back, but many have chosen not to. I might add that there are other people — some have estimated a figure of at least 1 million and, possibly, 1·5 million across the UK — who have decided to opt out of the workforce over the COVID period. That is a lifestyle choice for many people who are perhaps over 55 but who still have the capacity to carry on working for a number of years. However, they have made that lifestyle choice, having got used to how things are, to live on less and enjoy life. We cannot force people to do otherwise.”
“It makes absolute sense to me, and that milk, as a processed product, will mostly end up in the GB market. Having that circular economy makes considerable sense.”
“The dairy sector was mentioned very heavily in advance of the protocol. Everything seemed to be based around the problems that would exist in the dairy sector, but nobody seemed to pay any attention to the problems that would exist in every other sector should we have a protocol of the nature that eventually arrived. Consequently, we are in a circumstance where there are so many goods that we either pay a premium for or struggle to get into Northern Ireland as a consequence of that protocol. When we make decisions, we make them on behalf of all of industry, not one sector. I believe that it would be really positive if we were to invest in the dairy sector in Northern Ireland and ensure that more of the milk produced here is processed here.”
“However, that will not give a headline about more jobs, but it does ensure that there is real sustainability for the jobs that exist. I hope that Invest NI and, indeed, the Department of Finance will work with us to ensure that the agri-food sector, which has been through a number of transformations to be the successful powerhouse that it is for the Northern Ireland economy, can continue to be that for many decades going forward.”
“As the Member knows very well, that crosses two Departments: DFE and DAERA. Agriculture is more involved in the primary sector, and DFE is more involved in the business side. I am very supportive of bids going to the Department of Finance to sustain our agri-food industry, which employs 30% of our manufacturing sector, has a turnover of over £5 billion and has the potential to increase that significantly. <BR /> <BR />The tricky bit of it is that we are now in a circumstance where, for the long-term security of the sector, we need investment that will not necessarily create jobs. A lot of the food sector needs to mechanise and become technologically smarter by using more robotic equipment to sustain the industry.”
“I am pleased to provide an update on the independent strategic review of the Northern Ireland agri-food sector, which, of course, the Member was instrumental in setting up. Sir Peter Kendall, who was appointed to lead the review, has met a range of stakeholders over the past six months to explore the challenges and opportunities that the agri-food sector faces. I look forward to reading his findings and recommendations in the final report.”