The poll shows that almost 40 per cent of voters may vote when they might not otherwise do so if a political party shows a definitie commitment to the environment.

Dr Barry said: 'The lamentable performance of local parties and Direct Rule Ministers has driven the environment to the top of the political agenda. From Sellafield to planning and coastal pollution, Northern Ireland has been poorly served and humiliated in the eyes of law makers at the House of Commons and the European Commission. Time and time again around the world, we have seen that it takes a significant vote for the Green Party to get others to wake up to waste, climate change, and unaccountable planning services."

The main parties have bestowed a litany of environmental disasters on local people:

Sewage from the 60,000 people in Bangor is discharged untreated into Belfast lough

Beaches along the north coast are littered with human waste, toilet paper and sanitary towels

Lough Neagh is the most polluted large lake in Ireland

Dr Barry said local political neglect of the environment has also exposed local councils and tax payers to the risk of massive fines imposed for breaches of European environmental directives. This is the case in both waste management and a decision by the planning authorities to continue construction in 56 hot spots where sewerage infrastructure has been outpaced by development.