Debate contribution: River Basin Management Plan

Debate contribution by Miss Michelle McIlveen on 15 October 2024.

MLA

Miss Michelle McIlveen

Party at the time

Democratic Unionist Party

Date

15 October 2024

Type

Debate contribution

Business

Opposition Business

Heading

River Basin Management Plan

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 4592959

Read the official Assembly record

Text

Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. I thank the proposer for tabling a motion on this important issue. The Democratic Unionist Party wants to see a concerted and cross-sectoral approach taken to addressing both the sources of pollution and the means of improving water quality, be that in Lough Neagh or in rivers and lakes across Northern Ireland. Our river systems are a precious natural resource, but, tragically, in some instances, they are becoming nothing more than open sewers, in which habitats are destroyed, biodiversity is lost and lasting socio-economic damage is caused to those living and working in affected areas. Water is fundamental to sustaining life and growing our economy. A multi-agency approach is imperative in order to address poor water quality. Any plan needs to be underpinned by targeted initiatives to prevent pollutants from entering our waterways. Further enforcement action must be proportionate and justified for those who repeatedly or deliberately pollute our rivers or lakes. The Minister outlined an intention to finalise the ongoing review of the most recent draft of the river basin management plan by December. I understand that that will introduce a new programme of measures, and, given recent interventions by the Northern Ireland Audit Office (NIAO) and the OEP, it is appropriate that he be afforded the space to ensure that the final plan represents a fair outcome for all sectors that are impacted on. River basin management plans are an opportunity to focus on localised issues of concern and to identify solutions specific to those catchment areas. Some concern has been expressed in recent years that that localised focus has been weakened, including in the recent draft, which was consulted on. Does the Minister intend to proceed on that basis, or does he recognise that a one-size-fits-all approach for all of Northern Ireland may not be appropriate? Will he consult on the final river basin management plan? Will he ensure that future implementation and governance structures are catchment-based? Those are important considerations, and I ask the Minister to address them in his response if he can. Partnership working is crucial, and any programme of measures needs to be co-designed rather than imposed in order to maximise the success of implementation and outcomes. That means that DAERA, DFI and their arm's-length bodies, such as the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) and DFI Rivers, need to work collaboratively with local councils, households, businesses and, in particular, our farming industry. Although we may have sympathy with what the OEP said about the need for water body-specific environmental objectives as part of the river basin management plan, there is also the question of proportionality. Northern Ireland Water (NIW) will undoubtedly be constrained by its budget and by the lack of movement on constitutional change that might allow it to raise the capital funds needed to address sewage overflows and pressures facing water infrastructure. That does not mean that other sectors should carry an inordinate or disproportionately high burden. The scale of the contribution made by agriculture, for example, will depend on a guarantee from the UK Government about the level of funding available to support farm businesses directly or through rural development budgets. We want to see drastic improvements in water quality, but budgets are finite, and not just those in the public sector. Progress must therefore be sustained and sustainable. The plans should therefore avoid broad-brush approaches to enforcement. There should be targeting of deliberate and repeat offenders, and that should go hand in hand with advising and educating all sectors with responsibility for preserving water quality. There should be consistency in enforcement and punishment. A blind eye should not be turned to the repeated crimes of a public authority while farm businesses are heavily fined. Any river basin management plan should recognise progress achieved to date and ensure close synergies with existing strategies and projects such as the Living With Water programme and the soil nutrient health scheme. The Executive will also be required to press ahead with policies that encourage green growth and deliver agricultural policy that adopts a results-based approach to farming with nature and gives clarity on ammonia. A river basin management policy may set the strategic direction for achieving water quality, but the real litmus test for success will be in the outworking of those headline Executive policies. Wider agreement between the Executive and HM Treasury on a fair, long-term and needs-based fiscal framework would assist the third cycle river basin management plans immeasurably. The impact of chronic underfunding of public services is clear in the regression in water quality and the condition of Lough Neagh. Part of the solution is the restoration and retention of adequate funding of our Departments. We can have all the world-class policies and plans that we want, but they are useless without the necessary funding.

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

Assessment

Not flagged

Jev’s structured answers

Assessed 21 October 2026 at 11:26 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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