National Parks

There is a Ministerial commitment to work towards the establishment of national parks in Northern Ireland , and in particular towards a Mourne National Park. Although current Northern Ireland legislation – the Nature Conservation and Amenity Lands (NI) Order 1985 – allows for the designation of national parks, there is a shared view that this legislation is out of date and would not deliver the key objectives associated with 21st century national parks. Work is therefore in hand to prepare and consult on new draft national parks legislation. This primary legislation will not be site specific but will create the management framework for Northern Ireland’s national parks generally and enable particular areas to be designated by means of subsequent subordinate legislation.

In parallel with the work on the primary legislation, work specific to progressing the proposal for a Mourne National Park is in hand and a Mourne National Park Working Party is working up boundary proposals. More information about the proposal for a Mourne National Park can be found on the Northern Ireland Environment Agency website

The countryside of Northern Ireland is an important resource enjoyed by many people for recreation. In order to better inform both landowners and recreational users about the relationship between the promotion of managed access to the countryside and the role of the occupiers' liability legislation, DOE and DFP have jointly produced a publc information leaflet. Occupier's_Liability.pdf (308kb).