Debate contribution: Food Security

Debate contribution by Mr Patsy McGlone on 1 December 2025.

MLA

Mr Patsy McGlone

Party at the time

Social Democratic and Labour Party

Date

1 December 2025

Type

Debate contribution

Business

Private Members' Business

Heading

Food Security

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 5269586

Read the official Assembly record

Text

A recent study by the UK bodies the Constitution Society and the Federal Trust indicated that the widely held opinion before the referendum that Brexit's economic impact would be negative and large has been borne out. The UK's GDP has reduced by about 4% compared with a Remain scenario, trade has reduced by about 15% and there has been a sizeable impact on investment. I will break that down. That is £92 billion per year in lost output. To break that down further, that is £1,350 per person per year. The 4% of GDP lost means that government collects £30 billion to £40 billion less in tax each year. The reality is this: the DUP campaigned for that Brexit and got what it asked for, and now everyone else has to pick up the pieces. The motion reads like a wish list of reactionary policies that the DUP cannot get through the Executive. The SDLP does not support the motion, but we will support the amendment. We agree that food security is important in the North and across these islands, and I emphasised earlier the importance of the agri-food sector in the entire 32-county context. That is how that economy works. That is how it has developed and evolved naturally on this island, and that is why it is so successful. We also celebrate and congratulate the food and drink sector on generating £4·9 billion of gross value added to Northern Ireland. Of course, we want to see more investment in agriculture to support improved productivity, job creation and more environmentally sustainable practices. However, the DUP wants to return to the failed policies of the past, whether they involve Brexit, agriculture or so many other issues. We are living with the implications of the intensification of farming without any environmental remediation. In my area, each year, Lough Neagh faces issues with blue-green algae. That has to be addressed by new farming practices. A strategy has caused damage to the environment and may cost us millions in remediation. The DUP motion also complains again about the current climate change targets set in legislation by the Assembly. Previously, the DUP kicked the can down the road in the hope that a technological solution would appear, and it still has its fingers crossed on that one. Mr Speaker — a Phríomh-Leas-Cheann Comhairle; gabh mo leithscéal, a Carál

— in my previous role as the SDLP's AERA spokesperson, I highlighted the ongoing threat to the supply of veterinary medicines to the North: another unadvertised consequence of Brexit. That Brexit was promoted by the DUP and rejected by the majority of the people of the North. The risks to animal and human health will primarily affect the North and the island of Ireland, but the problems are not the result of a divergence in regulations between Britain and the EU on veterinary medicines; they are the result of a failure of negotiations. Who supported the people who were at that negotiating table? Who voted the procedures through Westminster? Join the dots. The solutions to the problems that we discussed in 2024 are still on the table. Those solutions will require compromise from either the EU or the British Government or both. It is, however, time for the Executive to step up on the issue and press the British Government for a solution. We can certainly agree that there is a need for clarity on ammonia controls in planning. The Department and the Executive cannot continue to delay a resolution to that issue. They must resolve it to address the threat of legal action from the Office for Environmental Protection (OEP) over the failure to adhere to the law on protecting the environment. That is also looming. It is the job of Governments and the Executive to consider, within the demands of the law, the demands of lobbyists, including us, when we are in the Chamber debating the issues. We in the SDLP believe that it is possible to improve productivity and job creation through more environmentally sustainable practices, which become a major selling point on the world stage. Having that product with those credentials is a bonus for any market into which we try to sell. That is what the public want to see an Executive deliver. Go raibh míle maith agat.

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

Assessment

Not flagged

Jev’s structured answers

Assessed 21 October 2026 at 14:06 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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