Debate contribution: Energy, Food and Environmental Security: Biomethane
Debate contribution by Miss Áine Murphy on .
- MLA
- Miss Áine Murphy
- Party at the time
- Sinn Féin
- Date
- 20 April 2026
- Type
- Debate contribution
- Business
- Private Members' Business
- Heading
- Energy, Food and Environmental Security: Biomethane
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 5494180
Read the official Assembly record
Text
I welcome the opportunity to speak in support of the motion and about what it means to our rural communities. As has been highlighted by many Members who have spoken in the debate, we face a convergence of pressures across our rural areas on farming incomes, our environment and our energy security. Farmers are under increasing pressure to adapt, whilst rural communities are always asked to absorb the additional pressures and impacts from environmental change and infrastructure demands.
Too often, those issues are treated in isolation, but for rural communities, they are connected. What are needed now are practical, joined-up solutions that work for rural areas, not against them. Biomethane has the potential to offer some of that solution. If developed properly, it can help farmers manage slurry, poultry litter and organic waste more effectively, which means reducing nutrient pressures and overload, whilst creating an additional income stream for rural areas. That is the opportunity that we have, but we have to be cognisant of the associated, and potential, risks. The last thing that any of us wants to see is a replay of the RHI and the unintended consequences that flowed from it. We cannot afford to repeat mistakes that have been seen elsewhere, where productive agricultural land has been diverted from food production to grow crops purely for energy production. In rural communities, food production is not optional: it is fundamental. Any biomethane strategy must be based on treating waste and by-products, not distorting our agricultural system. There is also a need for consultation and co-production at local level. A lot of the time, consultation and co-production on a number of policy decisions taken here do not happen or properly bed down in grassroots rural communities. Many rural people have a number of concerns about the risks associated with hosting infrastructure, especially about odour and planning issues. If systems were not properly managed, poorly regulated development would very quickly undermine confidence in those communities. That is why we need strong planning, robust environmental regulation and proper oversight in place.
Yes.
I agree with Robbie. It is about using the knowledge and best practice that we have already built up. On Friday, I spoke with a local man about the motion. He made a number of valid points around that space, which I was unaware of, about the odours that emanate from AD plants. He said that if an odour is emanating from an AD plant, there is an issue with the plant infrastructure. I concur, Robbie. It is paramount that rural communities see the benefit of biomethane and AD plants. Too often, they are asked to carry the burden of development without sharing fairly in the reward. Many of the areas that are expected to host the infrastructure still lack basic energy infrastructure, including access to the gas grid and network. If rural communities are to support the transition, they must benefit from it directly through local investment, improved infrastructure and fair access to the energy that is produced. Ultimately, it is about getting the balance right. Supporting agriculture, protecting our environment and strengthening energy resilience should not be about competing priorities. They have to go hand in hand. The motion recognises the need for a more joined-up approach. It is a step forward to delivering practical solutions for our rural communities. For that reason, I am pleased to support the motion.
564 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
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