Debate contribution: Food Security

Debate contribution by Ms Aoife Finnegan on 1 December 2025.

MLA

Ms Aoife Finnegan

Party at the time

Sinn Féin

Date

1 December 2025

Type

Debate contribution

Business

Private Members' Business

Heading

Food Security

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 5269633

Read the official Assembly record

Text

Go raibh maith agat, a Phríomh-Leas-Cheann Comhairle.

I will speak in support of our amendment, which seeks to strengthen the motion by grounding it firmly in the lived experiences of our rural communities and the challenges that they face. The amendment rightly recognises that, while our farmers are the backbone of the North's economy, they operate in a landscape profoundly shaped by Brexit, as Ms Sian Mulholland discussed. Its destabilising impact on our agriculture and agri-food sector cannot be overstated. It has created new frictions, uncertainties and pressures on those who already work in the most demanding and essential of industries. That is especially important when we consider the economic profile of our rural areas. According to a recent analysis by DAERA, almost half — 46% — of businesses in rural areas more than an hour outside Belfast have engaged directly in agriculture, fishing and forestry. When combined with construction, those sectors account for 56% of rural enterprises. In 2024, agriculture alone represented 39% of rural businesses, with construction at 17%. Those figures demonstrate not only the dominance of agriculture in our rural economies but the extent to which rural livelihoods depend on stable, workable policy frameworks. The amendment acknowledges the vital reality that the agri-food sector is inherently all-island in nature. Supply chains, veterinary systems, animal movement and food standards operate seamlessly across the border. In that context and to address Mr Robbie Butler's comments, the Windsor framework offers a pragmatic way to manage new trading realities, avoiding a hard border on the island of Ireland and, crucially, securing dual market access for our produce, giving it an economic advantage. The Assembly must recognise farmers' legitimate concerns. As other Members have highlighted, we heard in the Agriculture Committee last week directly from the North of Ireland Veterinary Association about the issues on future access to veterinary medicines after the grace period, as well as the burden that farmers see of emerging regulatory requirements. Those cannot be ignored. Our path towards emissions reduction must be fair, evidence-based and protective of food security. It must reject destructive measures, such as herd culls, and it must guard against carbon leakage, which would see local lower-emission produce being replaced with imports from higher-emission jurisdictions.

For those reasons, the amendment calls for greater on-farm investment, clarity on ammonia controls in planning and support for innovation. That is not only reasonable but essential. Rural businesses need certainty, the tools to adapt and a Department that is willing to champion their contribution to our shared prosperity. I urge Members to support the amendment and to stand with our rural communities at this pivotal moment.

438 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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