About us

The Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) has responsibility for food, farming, environmental, fisheries, forestry and sustainability policy and the development of the rural sector in Northern Ireland.

The Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) is an Executive Agency within the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs.

The Chief Executive is responsible to the Minister for the Agency's operations and performance. The Minister determines the policy framework within which the Agency operates, the level of resources made available each year and the scope of our activities. The Minister also approves the annual Business Plan.

The Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Development provides a range of corporate information, strategies and financial accounts. These documents can be found and downloaded under the following headings.

The Equality Scheme takes account of the responsibilities of the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs.

The Environmental Information Regulations 1992 (and 2004) created a right of access for all to Environmental Information subject to UK exceptions, while the Data Protection Act 2018 gave individuals the right of access to information held about themselves. The Freedom of Information Act 2000 has been designed to establish further this culture of openness and transparency in public administration.

Departmental Board

The table below summarises the requests received by the Department during 2025 which are considered to be of wider public interest.

DAERA Permanent Secretary