4 July, 2019
Links to full statements below
Unleashing the full potential of the Good Friday Agreement and avoiding a No-Deal scenario are key to protecting the environment on the island of Ireland from the threat posed by Brexit, an Oireachtas Committee heard today.
Speaking before the GFA Committee in her peronal capacity, barrister and Athlone IT law lecturer Alison Hough said that Brexit poses a major threat to nature on our small single biogeographic island without guaranteed island-wide standards for tackling the likes of invasive species and hazardous waste.
She called for the prioritisation of island-wide environmental regulation and management in any future Brexit negotiations and the setting up of an independent environmental regulator for the North.
Also speaking at the hearing, the Pillar’s Oonagh Duggan stressed that a no-deal Brexit poses a severe risk to the environment on the island of Ireland.
She said that the UK would no longer be subject to the oversight and enforcement of environmental rules by the European Commission and the European Court of Justice in a no-deal scenario, nor would it be subject to a myriad of Directives to protect the natural world.
Full Statement by Alison Hough BL: https://files.constantcontact.com/4a14a939001/9195bcf7-5da0-445d-99d3-2fed03f79e25.pdf
Full Statement by Oonagn Duggan: https://files.constantcontact.com/4a14a939001/0e1a54ea-3889-4582-b4d3-564e69c7b54f.pdf
Recent report commissioned by the Pillar and Northern Ireland Environment Link on cross-border environmental co-operation supported by the GFA available here: https://environmentalpillar.ie/report-on-the-belfast-good-friday-agreement-brexit-the-environment/
