Sylvan Richards highlighted the achievements and challenges facing the Ministry of the Environment, which was allocated $22.84 million for 2017-18.

Consolidating the Department of Environment and Natural Resources was “a major recommendation of the Sage report”, Mr Richards told MPs about the merger in April 2016.

So far, the department has removed “nearly 35,000” feral chickens from across the island, with their numbers dropping significantly. Similar plans were drawn up for the invasive crow and feral pigeons.

While the Department of Planning has been left “vulnerable” on staffing, the shortfall was being addressed, he said, while the department’s culture was being transformed through the Investors in People programme.

Mr Richards also praised the efforts of Department of Parks staff in steering the Botanical Gardens through a “very challenging” year, transitioning it into “a showcase we can be proud of”.

He pledged that Government would look to revitalise the local agriculture sector and introduce improvements to the industry’s infrastructure.

The minister also announced there would be a phased updating of legislation relating to animals.

In his response to the budget for the environment ministry, Diallo Rabain, the Shadow Minister of the Environment, questioned what the purpose of creating the new ministry was.

He suggested that the creation of the new ministry would cost $2.5 million per year to the taxpayer and showed that “the needs of the country had been trumped by the desires of the party [OBA]”.

But Mr Richards rejected the claim, telling MPs that the creation of the ministry had in fact costs closer to $336,000.

Mr Rabain in his response went on to accuse the Government of failing to pay any attention to recycling and sustainability in its budget and questioned why $65,000 had been spent on last year’s Ag Show.

Mr Richards pointed out that last year’s event was a public-private partnership and Government had paid $65,000 in overtime and salaries.