{"id":11613,"date":"2020-02-25T23:25:43","date_gmt":"2020-02-25T23:25:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/factcheckni.org\/?p=11613"},"modified":"2022-03-02T11:39:18","modified_gmt":"2022-03-02T11:39:18","slug":"did-only-the-green-party-support-an-epa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/factcheckni.org\/topics\/environment\/did-only-the-green-party-support-an-epa\/","title":{"rendered":"Did only the Green Party support an EPA?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

During the Review of Public Administration (June 2002-March 2006), three political parties \u2014 Alliance, Green Party, and the SDLP \u2014 pledged support for an independent environmental protection agency. In the subsequent Review of Environmental Governance in Northern Ireland (February 2006-May 2007), Sinn Fein and the Ulster Unionist Party also expressed support.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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On 25 January 2020, published<\/a> in the Irish News, Newton Emerson stated: \u201cAll Stormont parties except the Greens rejected an EPA when it was proposed a decade ago under the last major review of public administration.\u201d This claim may be related to a similar claim made in the Green Party manifesto<\/a> for the elections to the Northern Ireland Assembly in 2003: \u201c(None of the political parties in the current Assembly has called for an independent Environmental Protection Agency for Northern Ireland as part of the reform of public administration).\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An EPA for Northern Ireland<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Northern Ireland is the only region in the UK that does not currently have an independent EPA. There are environment agencies in England<\/a>, Wales<\/a>, and Scotland<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Governmental reports from 1962 (Abercorn Report)<\/a>, 1984 (Balfour Report)<\/a>, 1990 (Rossi Report) (see Col. 550)<\/a>, and 1996 (Prior Options Report)<\/a> have explored options for environment governmental arrangements. The last of these \u2014 The Prior Options Report \u2014 asserted \u201cthe theoretical merits\u201d of independence (of an EPA), but argued that an entity within Government could exert a much greater degree of influence than one outside and that it was inappropriate for Government agencies to be subject to regulation by a Non Departmental Public Body (NDPB). It proposed the creation of the Environment and Heritage Services (EHS) (now known as the Northern Ireland Environment Agency<\/a>) as an executive agency of the Department of the Environment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In February 2004, the result of a review chaired by Professor Richard Macrory was published \u2014 Transparency and Trust: Reshaping Environmental Governance in Northern Ireland. This Macrory Report proposed a series of options<\/a> for the better delivery of environmental regulation, strengthening the regulator\u2019s accountability, and providing independent policy advice to the government. In October 2004, an environmental NGO coalition launched a public consultation<\/a> seeking views on the Macrory options. It found strong support for the creation of an independent environment agency in Northern Ireland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Review of public administration<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The last major review of public administration was commissioned, under direct rule, in 2002. It concluded and reported its findings<\/a> in March 2006, leading to the creation of Northern Ireland\u2019s current arrangement of eleven local councils.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Concurrently, in February 2006, the former UK Minister for the Environment, Lord Rooker, appointed a panel of experts to conduct an independent Review of Environmental Governance in Northern Ireland (REGNI)<\/a>.
The terms of reference of the review<\/a> included:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTaking account of the Review of Public Administration, previous inquiries into environmental governance arrangements in Northern Ireland, and the existing and emerging EU environmental regulatory framework, the Review will address the structure, management and resourcing of the publicly funded elements of the environmental governance system and will bring forward proposals for the future environmental governance arrangements, in relation to environmental protection, the natural heritage and the built heritage\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An interim report<\/a> was published in September 2006, and the final report<\/a> was published in May 2007 \u2014 Foundations of Our Future: The Review of Environmental Governance. With devolved administration of government restored<\/a> to Northern Ireland on 8 May 2007, the REGNI report was presented to the Northern Ireland Assembly\u2019s Committee for the Environment (Item 6)<\/a> and the Minister for the Environment<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Among the recommendations in the REGNI report was the setting up of an independent environmental protection agency<\/a> responsible for environmental regulation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Party positions during review<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

During the REGNI review, written and oral submissions were solicited from stakeholders. These stakeholders included local political parties, which held the following positions<\/a> in regards to an independent environmental protection agency in Northern Ireland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Supportive:<\/p>\n\n\n\n