Independent agency would be unaccountable and expensive
THE 50,000 people who work on local farms have the daily privilege of enjoying our beautiful countryside.
To rear livestock or grow crops successfully farmers rely entirely on a healthy environment.
Farmers have considered carefully proposals to create a new Environment Protection Agency (EPA) but believe building on the existing structures will deliver much more for Northern Ireland.
The argument that Northern Ireland needs an EPA because the rest of the UK regions have such agencies is flawed. We don’t need something just because someone else has it.
In fact, local farmers working together with government have delivered a comprehensive water improvement programme through our Nitrates Action Programme – while the rest of the UK faces legal proceedings from Brussels for failing to address the issue. Northern Ireland farmers have also planted over 500,000 native trees in our countryside through agri-environment schemes – another example of the current system working.
Why waste millions rebranding the Environment and Heritage Service (EHS) to create a new body with a new chief executive, new headquarters, etc, when in effect it will mostly be the same people with the same task?
The existing EHS and DoE are now working positively with farmers and are getting tough on environmental damage: building on this good work should be the ongoing focus, rather than focusing on creating new structures.
Crucially, these government departments are also accountable because they are governed by elected, local ministers.
An independent EPA would be unaccountable and that is a major concern for farmers.
Indeed, an EPA would also have to fund itself and the experience of farmers in other parts of the UK is that this leads to costly inspection charges as cost recovery becomes a major issue.
So our message to the minister is build on the progress that is being made, but don’t waste taxpayers’ money creating a new and unnecessary body.
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Weather for Belfast
Monday 28 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 12 C to 23 C
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Sunny spells
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