5. Mr Robinson asked the Minister of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs for his assessment of littering pollution at recreation areas, including beaches, along the north coast. (AQO 602/22-27)

Littering is a blight on our precious environment, and I am strongly committed to and actively working towards reducing the number of littering offences throughout Northern Ireland using the combined approach of legislation, education and enforcement. I am aware of the continuing problem of litter, especially in the marine environment, and I am conscious of its impacts along the beautiful beaches of the north coast and our whole coastline.

My Department continues to work with our stakeholders, such as Keep Northern Ireland Beautiful, Northern Ireland Water, the National Trust and Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council to reduce the volume of litter entering our marine environment. In addition, legislation was introduced in December 2022 to increase the maximum fixed penalty notice that councils can set for littering offences from £80 to £200 to act as a stronger deterrent to littering. My Department has also provided funding to a number of projects specifically aimed at tackling the problem of marine litter through the marine litter capital grants scheme, which improves environmental management of local public areas by reducing marine litter.

The draft environmental improvement plan (EIP), which is subject to Executive approval, includes a commitment to publish the first litter strategy for Northern Ireland, which will include strategies for tackling marine litter.

Thank you, Minister, for your answer. What further message can the House send to those who come to our beaches and think that it is OK to use them as outdoor bins and expect everyone else to clean up after them?

The House has to send a united message that that is wrong and that penalties are associated with it. I am keen to work with councils to see what more we can do to.

My Department provides significant support to, for example, Keep Northern Ireland Beautiful to tackle the scourge of littering at source. In the current financial year, Keep Northern Ireland Beautiful was awarded £816,000 through the environment fund. There is much that we can do with our communities, with councils or as MLAs to stamp out the problem.

The Minister will be aware that a massive EU study years ago eventually led to the introduction of what became known as the "single-use plastics directive". That legislation was supposed to be transposed here a couple of years ago. When will we get a ban on single-use plastics here so that beaches on the north coast and the environment as a whole will be protected from littering?

I thank the Member for his question. I am working on that with officials and want to progress it because it is important that we use those legislative tools to address the issues that are being discussed.

Minister, will you please outline what funding has been provided through the marine litter capital grants scheme to tackle the issue?

My Department has provided approximately £622,000 to 67 projects across Northern Ireland over the lifetime of the scheme. The marine litter capital grants scheme was launched for three years in 2021-22, with the third and final year of funding ending in March 2024. The aim of the scheme was to tackle the litter that enters our marine environment, causing harm to marine biodiversity and to the health and well-being of our communities. The funding also helped to improve the environmental management of public areas to reduce marine litter.