Sinn Féin’s Environment Spokesperson, Philip McGuigan MLA, has welcomed today’s announcement from the Department for Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs that £2.2m of revenue raised from the carrier bag levy will be used for funding frontline environmental projects.

The North Antrim MLA said:

“The use of revenue from the highly successful Carrier Bag Levy to fund a broad range of environmental projects is welcome.

“This levy was a Sinn Féin initiative, introduced to tackle widespread plastic waste while generating funding that could be directed towards environmental protection.

“As we face into a climate and biodiversity crisis, funding of this kind is essential to prevent habitat degradation and biodiversity loss.

“This also shows the positive impact of environmental levies and Sinn Féin are exploring the potential of additional levies of similar impact for the future.”