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A panel has recommended the establishment of an independent regulator as part of its review into environmental governance in Northern Ireland.

Independent panel members Dr Viviane Gravey, Diane Ruddock and John McCallister today launched their final report and presented their findings to DAERA Minister Andrew Muir.

The report contains 32 recommendations that fall under four key themes: clarity and coherence; meaningful independence; better compliance; and transparency and accountability.

Many of the recommendations are designed to have much clearer separation between policy making and regulation and to improve public confidence and trust in governance arrangements. A key to achieving this is the recommendation that Northern Ireland’s environmental regulator should be independent of government, established as a Non-Departmental Public Body.

The independent panel proposes that the regulator should have oversight of important environmental issues such as air and water quality, waste management, nature and biodiversity and the marine environment, although the exact scope would need to be determined. The panel acknowledges that greater independence requires clear accountability and cooperation between departments and other bodies.

The report also notes that addressing environmental challenges is not only a DAERA responsibility, but a task which all of government, and all of society, must address together.

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