About Us

The Department

The Department of the Environment is one of 11 Northern Ireland Departments created in 1999 by the Northern Ireland Act 1998 and the Departments (Northern Ireland) Order 1999.

Aims

The Department's aim is to improve the quality of life for everyone in Northern Ireland through:

• the promotion of sustainable development principles in all the activities of government and wider society
• in particular, their application in DOE's responsibilities for land use, air and water quality, waste management and the natural and built environments
• the reduction of road traffic casualties; and
• the promotion of efficient and effective local government.

Objectives

• To protect, conserve and enhance the natural environment and built heritage.
• To improve the quality of life of the people of Northern Ireland by planning and managing development in ways which are sustainable and which contribute to creating a better environment.
• To reduce road casualties.
• To support a system of Local Government which meets the needs of residents and ratepayers.

Main Responsibilities

The main responsibilities of the Department are: -

• To protect, conserve and enhance the natural and built environment for the benefit of present and future generations
• To provide land use planning which balances the development needs of the region with the protection of the environment
• To improve and promote road safety and ensure the proper regulation of drivers, vehicles and operators
• To support a system of local government which meets the needs of citizens and ratepayers.

Structure

The Minister has overall political responsibility and accountability for all the Department's activities. The Minister for the Department of the Environment is Arlene Foster MLA.

The Permanent Secretary is the Minister's principal adviser on all aspects of the Department's responsibilities and is the Accounting Officer for all Departmental expenditure. He is assisted by a Deputy Secretary and by the Chief Executives of Planning Service, Driver & Vehicle Agency (DVA), and Environment & Heritage Service (EHS) who are also Accounting Officers for the expenditure of their respective Agencies; and by Directors who manage the following divisions: Planning and Environmental Policy Group; Road Safety Division; Local Government; and Corporate Services Division.

At official level, the work of the Department is co-ordinated and monitored by the Departmental Board, comprising of the Permanent Secretary, the Deputy Secretary and the Director of Corporate Services. The role of the Departmental Board is to provide corporate leadership within policies determined by the Minister.

The Departmental Management Group, consisting of Departmental Board members and Agency Chief Executives, also meets regularly to discuss corporate policies and issues and to ensure the implementation of these throughout the Department.

DOE Senior Management Team Structure 2007.pdf (60KB)

Departmental Overview(47kb)