AQW 19452/22-27

Mr John Blair
Alliance Party
South Antrim

Tabled Date: 06/12/2024
Answered On Date: 02/01/2025
Priority Written: No

Question:
To ask the Minister for Infrastructure how his Department is addressing issues related to road safety for animals, particularly in areas with large wildlife populations.

Answer:

The Department can install signs to warn road users about ‘cattle’ (red triangle, white background and black picture of a cow), ‘wild animals’ (red triangle, white background and black picture of a deer), ‘wild horses and ponies’ (red triangle, white background and black picture of a horse), and ‘accompanied horses or ponies’ (red triangle, white background and black picture of a person on a horse).

At the development stage of any major road project, my Department undertakes a comprehensive Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), as required by Part V of the Roads (Northern Ireland) Order 1993, to meet the requirements of the EIA Directive which often includes a Habitats Regulations Assessment, as required under the Conservation (Natural Habitats, etc.) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1995.

As part of the EIA process for major roads projects the potential impacts on wildlife and, particularly, protected species are identified and where appropriate, mitigation measures are implemented to effectively manage these impacts. On recent major roads projects, mitigation included the provision of 65.8km of wildlife fencing and 37 wildlife underpasses. There was also 2.54 hectares of bat hop-over planting installed as part of the overall landscape design.