Debate contribution: Lough Neagh Rescue Plan

Debate contribution by Mrs Linda Dillon on 13 February 2024.

MLA: Mrs Linda Dillon
Party at the time: Sinn Féin
Date: 13 February 2024
Type: Debate contribution
Business: Private Members' Business
Heading: Lough Neagh Rescue Plan
Assembly identifier: Official Report component 4206389

Text

I appreciate the opportunity to speak on the motion. As we all know, the issues facing Lough Neagh may not be insurmountable, but they are not simple or quick fixes, as outlined by the previous contributor. The starting point needs to be bringing the lough back into public ownership. That motion was proposed by Francie Molloy, who was an MLA at the time and is now the MP for Mid Ulster, in this Chamber in 2011. Trying to bring the lough back into public ownership is something for which he has argued strongly and on which he has done quite a substantial amount of work. He has worked with others to do so, including Shaftesbury himself. We need to take that on seriously and to look at how it can be done. We need to work together to ensure that it is done. There needs to be a strong cross-departmental focus, and all those with an interest in the lough, particularly the local community, must be a part of the solution. I know that there are representatives here today from the Lough Neagh Partnership, and many people in my constituency of Mid Ulster will be following the debate closely. We value the lough, and, like the Member who spoke previously, I live not far from the lough shore, just up from Washing Bay. The response to the concerns about the health of the lough last summer gives us some sense of how much local people love and value this amazing natural resource, which must be protected. Indeed, it was an issue that exercised many in my constituency, including children at local schools who wrote to me. I want us to leave a legacy of a healthy lough and a good natural resource to the children who wrote to us, and that is the commitment that I want us to give to them today. I am not ashamed to admit that, given my proximity to the lough, I am absolutely biased and see this as an issue that must be prioritised in the Executive going forward. There is massive tourism potential right around the lough, but it is not being realised due to the lack of ownership and the lack of a cross-departmental plan and responsibility for that plan. A group of local people has been campaigning for the Barmouth to be dredged to allow boats to travel freely from the River Blackwater into Lough Neagh so that Lough Neagh rescue services can get up the river to respond to emergencies, so that local people can take their boats out and, most importantly, so that we can unlock that vital tourism potential. Waterways Ireland needs to be a part of that conversation, and I hope that the North/South Ministerial Council (NSMC) will be used as a vehicle to look at that as a cross-border issue. I cannot talk about Lough Neagh and not mention its value to our local fishing industry; to the local fishing families who have fished on the lough for many, many generations; to the eel fishery; and to the local community for the purposes of leisure, including cold-water dipping, which has become a very popular leisure activity and is beneficial and of value to those with mental health issues.
Yes.
Absolutely, and that is why I outlined that as the starting point of my speech. As I say, our MP, Francie Molloy, has worked on that over many, many years, and I know that others have been involved in that conversation too. We need to grasp that nettle and take it on. It is clear that we all understand that there needs to be unity of purpose, and I am up for working with everyone who is genuinely interested, but, as the Member outlined, the key to unlocking all the issues on the lough is to, once and for all, deal with its ownership.

647 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

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