The Alliance Party and Sinn Féin have hit out at the Environment Minister after his Department ignored a request which gave an oil firm permission to drill in Woodburn Forest near Carrickfergus.

Alliance East Antrim MLA Stewart Dickson is calling on Minister Mark H Durkan to establish an independent Environment Protection Agency (EPA).

Mr Dickson said: "The Department of Environment (DOE) needs to seriously look at how it effectively allowed permission to be granted for this project, which has the potential to poison the drinking water for people in East Antrim, while destroying part of a scenic forest.

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"A strong, independent EPA would not only send out a tough message against polluters and improve the quality of life for everyone in Northern Ireland but be a major step forward in ensuring we don't see mistakes like this repeated, with the potentially disastrous consequences they may have."

Sinn Féin MLA Oliver McMullan said: "Reports that the DOE ignored a request to take part in a consultation over the application to drill at Woodburn Forest is very worrying.

"By ignoring this request the department effectively granted Infrastrata permission by default. This blunder needs to be explained.

"This issue has caused considerable concern in the local area, particularly around the potential impact any drilling could have on the water table.

"The environment minister has serious questions to answer on why his department did not respond in time and allowed this to proceed."

(CD/JP)