North/South Unit - Department of the Environment, Community & Local Government

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North South Unit

North South Ministerial Council
Water Quality
Waste Management
Research into Environmental Protection
Other Areas of North South Co-operation
Contact Information

North South Ministerial Council

The North South Ministerial Council (NSMC), which was established under the Good Friday Agreement. It comprises Ministers of the Northern Ireland Administration and the Irish Government, working together to take forward co-operation between both parts of the island to mutual benefit. The work of the Council including the joint communiqués can be viewed at the lnk below.

North South Ministerial Council (external link)

At the inaugural plenary meeting of the Council in December 1999 a range of areas for co-operation were agreed including certain matters relating to the environment and co-operation is ongoing on a range of environmental issues.

Water Quality

A Working Group on Water Quality, set up in 2000, comprising of officials North and South with appropriate technical support, are co-operating on a range of initiatives in relation to Water Quality. A North South Water Framework Directive Co-ordination Group was established to deal in particular with the implementation of the EU Water Framework Directive (WFD).

The Directive requires the preparation of river basin management plans and programmes of measures for the protection and improvement of water quality and requires that Member States co-ordinate their efforts with regard to cross-border waters. Out of eight river basin districts there are 3 cross-border International River Basin Districts (IRBD's). These are the North Western, Neagh Bann and the Shannon IRBDs.

There has been a high degree of co-ordination between the relevant authorities in developing the river basin management plans which have now been published in both jurisdictions. There will continue to be a requirement for co-ordination between Ireland and Northern Ireland in relation to implementation of these plans and in relation to achievement of the WFD objectives. The North South Working Group on Water Quality will continue to report progress at the North South Ministerial Council Environment sectoral format meetings.

Waste Management

A number of issues are being pursued under the aegis of the NSMC in the context of expanded co-operation on waste management including:

A steering group of officials is working to develop a structured approach to a joint programme for the development of markets for recyclable material. The main elements of the work programme relate to initiatives on bulky waste, quality protocols and best practice case studies. The review of the National Hazardous Waste Management Plan involves continued liaison with the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) in Northern Ireland.

Progress is being made by the Northern Ireland Environment Agency and Dublin City Council in relation to the repatriation of waste from the South which was illegally dumped in sites in Northern Ireland. Removal of this waste was commenced from a number of sites.

Research into Environmental Protection

The Northern Ireland Environment Agency and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) are working together to develop a set of common environmental indicators to be published in 2012.

The two agencies presented a joint paper on Cross Border Co-operation on Environmental Reporting and Research at the October 2010 meeting of the NSMC The paper builds on previous areas of co-operation and focuses future support for environmental research in a number of priority environmental areas. The priority themes for research co-operation highlighted in the paper were:

Water quality and the aquatic environment
Environment and health

Other Areas of North South Co-operation

Spatial Strategy

It has been agreed that a joint framework is required to support co-ordinated cross border implementation of spatial policy. The framework will assist a collaborated approach in taking the two separate strategies (the Regional Development Strategy in the North and the National Spatial Strategy in the South) forward. There is ongoing co-operation between the Department of Environment, Community and Local Government (DEHLG) and the Department of Regional Development in Northern Ireland on the development of this All-island Spatial Planning Collaborative Framework.
Natural Heritage

Co-operation between the National Parks and Wildlife Service in the South and the Northern Ireland Environment Agency is ongoing. A jointly commissioned report on "Invasive Species in Ireland" has been produced by Quercus - a consultancy arm of Queen’s University, Belfast. Phase 11 of this work is being carried out over a further 3 year period. The production of joint Species Action plans is an important element of the work being undertaken to meet the requirements of the EU Habitats and Birds Directives. An all-island biodiversity conference has been held each year since 2007. Contacts at official level North and South continue on a day-to-day basis, involving the exchange of views, expertise and information.
The British Irish Council

The British-Irish Council (BIC) (external link) was established under the Good Friday Agreement to promote positive, practical relationships among its Member Administrations - Ireland, Northern Ireland, England, Scotland, Wales, Isle of Man, Jersey and Guernsey.

Work is currently being taken forward on a range of areas of mutual interest including: Impacts of Climate Change and Adaptation; Waste Management; Sellafield and Radioactive Waste and Marine Nature Conservation.
Cross-Border Mobility Website

A cross-border mobility website (external link) acts as a central information point for people who wish to move across the border in either direction to live, work and study. The website contains easily accessible information on issues such as taxation, social security, job seeking, health, education, housing, banking and telecommunications. Funding for its development was provided under Measure 5.2 of the EU Peace and Reconciliation Programme.