To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs what progress has been made by his Department towards publication of an Environmental Improvement Plan.

In the next few weeks, I intend to bring forward for Executive consideration and agreement a new environment strategy which can be adopted as Northern Ireland’s first Environmental Improvement Plan (EIP). The EIP will take a strategic approach to all the issues facing our environment, which will require collective action across government, private and public sector and in the community.