DAERA launches consultation on new Fisheries and Water Environment Bill
Date published:
18 September 2025
The Lough Neagh Action Plan committed DAERA to reviewing fines and penalties for environmental crime, including pollution offences, and this policy proposal aims to ensure that enforcement mechanisms for polluters are both proportionate and effective, supporting the Departmental priorities of protecting and restoring our water environment and also driving improvements to water quality.
Where enforcement is necessary to act as a deterrent, a range of additional measures are proposed, ensuring action can be undertaken in a fair, balanced and proportionate manner. It is important that everyone understands their role in ensuring that the water environment is protected.
The proposals, which focus on Northern Ireland’s seas, rivers and lakes, will feed into the forthcoming Fisheries and Water Environment Bill. The intention is to embed water quality firmly within the fourth cycle River Basin Management Plan and build on the four key pillars outlined in the Lough Neagh Action Plan: Education, Investment, Regulation and Enforcement to ensure consistency across the piece.
Minister of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs, Andrew Muir, said: “If we are to truly turn the tide on water quality then we need a modern regime of fines and penalties to hold polluters accountable. Whilst my Department will always work constructively through incentivisation and education, there must be consequences for all those who continue to pollute our waterways.
“Good water quality is not only essential for our marine wildlife and biodiversity, it’s vital for all of us, whether it is the drinking water from our tap or the waterbodies we swim in. Lough Neagh must be a turning point, and action requires everyone to take responsibility for their water pollution, whether as an individual or a business.
“These proposals, arising from the Lough Neagh Action Plan, are intended to be a proportionate response to the clear need to do more to protect and restore our rivers, lakes and coastal waters. Responses to the consultation will shape the final legislation and I would encourage all interested parties to share their views on the proposals before the deadline on 6 November 2025.”
The policy proposals outlined in the consultation are designed to deter polluters and non-compliant operators, supporting the Departmental priority of protecting and restoring our water environment and delivering improvements to water quality.
