Debate contribution: Nutrients Action Programme 2026-29: Opposition

Debate contribution by Mr Declan McAleer on 10 June 2025.

MLA

Mr Declan McAleer

Party at the time

Sinn Féin

Date

10 June 2025

Type

Debate contribution

Business

Private Members' Business

Heading

Nutrients Action Programme 2026-29: Opposition

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 5001102

Read the official Assembly record

Text

No one in the Chamber denies that there is an urgent need to tackle pollution in Lough Neagh and in rivers across the North. The environment is in decline. Environmental decline is real, and we must act. The question is not whether we act but how we act. The NAP proposals for 2026-29, which include stricter phosphorus limits, mandatory low-emission slurry-spreading equipment and compulsory buffer strips for arable and horticulture land, threaten to impose heavy costs, increased red tape and impractical conditions on farms of all sizes and not just the 3,500 farms that are mentioned in the motion. The proposals risk devastating agriculture, especially that for small family farms that are already stretched by tight margins, rising costs and existing regulatory burdens. Across the North, the farming community is embracing environmental innovation. The soil health scheme, for example, is helping farmers to manage nutrients, improve soil quality and sequester carbon in a data-driven, science-based way. The sustainable utilisation of livestock slurry project is another example, giving promising solutions for better nutrient use without forced compliance. The soon-to-be-opened Farming with Nature scheme will also provide on-farm solutions to manage nutrients, increase biodiversity and protect our waterways. Farmers have reduced their use of artificial nitrogen fertiliser compared with five years ago, demonstrating a positive shift towards more sustainable and environmentally responsible farming practices. Many farmers have already invested in low-emissions slurry-spreading equipment through the farm business improvement scheme. That shows a willingness to act, but those changes must be funded, workable and fair. We have serious concerns about the consultation process and whether it meets the Department's legal commitments under the equality scheme and the Rural Needs Act 2016. First, public participation was undermined. We have had reports of people being unable to join online webinars due to broken links, denying them a voice and a chance to ask questions. That is not acceptable, especially for policy changes on such a scale. Secondly, no economic impact assessment was carried out. With significant new obligations being proposed for thousands of farmers, that is a failure to evaluate the financial and practical implications, especially for rural communities. Thirdly, there is an inconsistency between the consultation document and the draft regulations. The consultation document states that the new phosphorus balance limit will apply to all farms that exceed 150 kg of nitrogen per hectare whether by production or import, but the regulations refer only to production, not import. That creates confusion and undermines the integrity of the process. If the final rules differ from the consultation document, it will call the whole exercise into question. Fourth and most concerning is the fact that the equality impact assessment (EQIA) fails to assess how the proposals disproportionately affect rural communities. The policy is described as technical and unrelated to section 75 groups, but that ignores reality. In many areas that are more than an hour from Belfast, farming is the backbone of the local economy. DAERA's figures show that nearly half of businesses in those areas are tied to agriculture, forestry or fishing. DAERA has acknowledged that the measures will hit rural areas harder than urban ones, yet the equality impact assessment does not reflect that, nor does it meet the Department's statutory duty under the Rural Needs Act 2016, which requires consideration of the social and economic needs of rural communities. Furthermore, the proposed nitrogen fertiliser cuts are not only unworkable but based on guidelines that do not reflect the North's conditions. AgriSearch warns that those limits could slash grass yields or force costly concentrates use or even herd reductions and, perversely, increase phosphorus run-off by over 200 tons a year. The Department must revisit its economic, rural and equality assessments and work with farmers, not against them. We need policies that are practical, proportionate and based on evidence, not blanket rules that could drive farms out of business.

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

Assessment

Not flagged

Jev’s structured answers

Assessed 21 October 2026 at 12:41 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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