Debate contribution: Lough Neagh

Debate contribution by Ms Aoife Finnegan on 9 September 2025.

MLA

Ms Aoife Finnegan

Party at the time

Sinn Féin

Date

9 September 2025

Type

Debate contribution

Business

Private Members' Business

Heading

Lough Neagh

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 5086679

Read the official Assembly record

Text

Sinn Féin is deeply concerned at the return of blue-green algae in Lough Neagh and other waterways. That pollution has severe environmental, economic and social consequences. Its continued presence harms biodiversity, threatens public health and is a hammer blow to our eel-fishing communities, which have already suffered losses of income over the past two fishing seasons.

I reiterate my party colleague Declan Kearney's call for supports to be provided to the eel fishing sector, which has been affected by the eel fishing ban and has received no support to mitigate that loss.

In July 2024, at the Executive, Sinn Féin agreed to the Lough Neagh action plan, which had 37 actions, many of which have already been implemented, with others earmarked for delivery. The action plan is not a complete solution, and there are no quick fixes. However, it provides a clear and practical pathway towards addressing the environmental breakdown of the lough and restoring it to its natural beauty. Among the actions is a small business research initiative, which gives businesses the funding opportunity to innovate, research and bring forward solutions to remove pollution from the lough and restore it for future generations. In April 2025, John O'Dowd, as Finance Minister, reiterated Sinn Féin's commitment to the action plan by allocating an additional £5 million towards tackling the pollution and safeguarding the lough for many years ahead. On the nutrients action programme, let me be clear: Sinn Féin supports the principle of a strong nutrients action plan that protects water quality and tackles pollution. However, we want one that is workable, deliverable, fair, based on just transition principles and works in conjunction with farmers. The establishment of a stakeholder group to bring together communities, farmers, fishermen and environmental bodies is a step in that direction. That is a welcome development, but it is also an admission by the Department that there should have been more of an effort on the Minister's part to properly engage farmers, fishermen and communities at the outset when developing the NAP proposals. Equally, the Department's acknowledgement that there needs to be a more detailed economic impact assessment of how NAP proposals would affect farmers underlines the need for greater engagement so that the impact on family farm incomes is fully understood. Let us be under no illusions: whether NAP was agreed or not before June, we would still have experienced the blue-green algae in the lough during the summer. While it forms part of the solution, it is clear that restoring the lough will require not only short-term actions but a range of long-term measures to have a meaningful impact. Part of that solution must be an end to the Earl of Shaftesbury's ownership of the lough bed. That is something that Sinn Féin has long called for, even before the presence of the algae. Ownership of the lough should be informed by the communities that live beside it and have been its guardians for generations. On a practical level, transfer of ownership would help to better regulate and implement environmental protections pertaining to the lough. In the past, we have seen how the current arrangements have resulted in regulation falling between stools, with agencies not taking responsibility or not having sufficient responsibility, while the lough suffered the consequences. I welcome today's debate and the opportunity to once again set out Sinn Féin's unwavering commitment to addressing the issue of Lough Neagh. Let us work constructively together with the Minister, the Executive and, most importantly, local communities to ensure that, step by step, day by day and bit by bit, we undo the environmental damage that has been done to the lough and restore it for future generations.

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

Assessment

Not flagged

Jev’s structured answers

Assessed 21 October 2026 at 13:05 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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