Debate contribution: On-farm Investment

Debate contribution by Mr John Blair on 17 June 2024.

MLA

Mr John Blair

Party at the time

Alliance Party

Date

17 June 2024

Type

Debate contribution

Business

Private Members' Business

Heading

On-farm Investment

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 4496300

Read the official Assembly record

Text

I speak as the Alliance spokesperson for agriculture, environment and rural affairs, and I am, of course, also a member of the AERA Committee. The motion acknowledges, though only in outline, that Northern Ireland's ammonia levels are unsatisfactory and that the agri-sector's environmental footprint needs to improve. That is laid out clearly in the motion. In Northern Ireland, the specifics are that the agriculture sector is responsible for 97% of ammonia emissions. Furthermore, despite having only 6% of the land area and 3% of the population, Northern Ireland accounts for over 12% of the UK's overall ammonia emissions. Recent data from 2022 highlights the significance of those high levels of ammonia emissions, as 96% of our areas of special scientific interest have critical levels of nitrogen. Those figures are alarming, to say the least. Reducing our ammonia emissions is vital if we are to improve the overall quality of our air and protect sensitive ecological environments from the adverse effects of nitrogen. Movement from the Department is, of course, much needed, and I know that Minister Muir will be publishing the long-awaited ammonia strategy and operational protocol later this year, which will be evidence- and science-based and will, I am sure, respect environmental obligations. That, of course, could have been done much sooner had the Assembly not collapsed for nearly two years. I remind Members that that collapse was caused by the party whose Members tabled the motion. Another harsh and unfortunate reality is that our Departments are facing significant budgetary and resource pressures, with DAERA being no exception. Those constraints are not assisting progress on this or other matters. Separately, I am thankful for the update that was provided by NIEA at the most recent AERA Committee meeting, when it discussed the measures that were taken by its natural environment division over the past three months to address the backlog of applications. Those measures included increasing staff numbers and implementing a new and more efficient approach. The information that was presented to the Committee, however, made it abundantly clear that outstanding planning applications — those that were mentioned today that are awaiting decisions — are not, in themselves, going to address ammonia emissions at the level that is required. In the discussion with the AERA Committee just four days ago, officials made it clear that the vast majority of applications do not include significant mitigation measures. That being said, the issue that we face with ammonia goes far further than planning application delays. The agriculture sector can introduce cost-effective measures to help reduce ammonia, such as improved storage of farm manure, improved farm manure spreading techniques and improved strategies for cleaning livestock areas. There is much work to be done if we are to reach the UK target of a 16% reduction in ammonia levels in the atmosphere by 2030. Although Alliance supports the motion's goal of reducing ammonia emissions, it is important to note that the motion does not accurately account for our current environmental, legal and financial situation. The motion, for example, references investment and modernisation but does not specify any of the measures, mitigations or installations that are vital to reducing ammonia levels. A more comprehensive understanding of those factors is necessary in order to achieve meaningful and realistic emission reduction goals. We will not support the motion for those reasons. We do, however, continue to hope that the agri-sector can work towards a supported just transition in ammonia and on other environmental matters.

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

Assessment

Not flagged

Jev’s structured answers

Assessed 21 October 2026 at 10:42 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

Disagree with this assessment?

Classifications can be challenged. A person reads every challenge, and any change is recorded publicly above with its reason.

Challenge this classification