Mr. Feargal Ó Coigligh:

When the UK leaves the EU, it will leave the obligations under the water framework directive. Equivalent environmental compliance is part of the negotiation at the moment. The programme for Government states that we will need to engage with Northern Ireland in environmental co-operation, including water quality, in the context of Brexit. It is very much an issue that we will need to consider. I met my counterpart in Northern Ireland last year to discuss these issues. It will be an issue for ongoing debate. I understand the UK is also a member of the UNECE, the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, which has an environmental impact assessment, EIA, obligation in transboundary EIA impacts, for example, which bind both countries. There are still existing international frameworks which the UK is supposed to abide by.