Schedule 3: The Office for Environmental Protection: Northern Ireland Part 1: The OEP’s Northern Ireland functions Monitoring and reporting on environmental law
Paragraph 2 describes how the OEP is to monitor and report on the implementation of Northern Ireland environmental law. This term is defined in paragraph 18(2) of Schedule 3.
	Sub-paragraph (1) requires the OEP to monitor the implementation of Northern Ireland environmental law.
	Sub-paragraph (2) permits the OEP, as it deems appropriate, to produce a report on any matter concerned with the implementation of Northern Ireland environmental law.
	Sub-paragraph (3) ensures that the OEP does not duplicate the work of the Committee on Climate Change by preventing the OEP monitoring or reporting on specific matters already within the statutory remit of that Committee.
	Sub-paragraph (4) lists those matters. This provision ensures the OEP does not duplicate the role of the Committee on Climate Change and provides consistency across England and Northern Ireland should the Assembly choose to extend the OEP to devolved matters in Northern Ireland.
	Sub-paragraph (5) requires that any report the OEP produces in line with sub-paragraph (2) must be laid before the Northern Ireland Assembly and published. This ensures the reports are in the public domain and are subject to scrutiny by elected representatives.
	Sub-paragraph (6) requires the Department to produce a response to any report issued by the OEP under sub-paragraph (2). The Department must lay the response before the Northern Ireland Assembly and publish it.
	Sub-paragraph (7) requires the Department to lay its response before the Assembly within three months of the OEP’s report being laid.