NI politicians need to 'get real' about the environment, says Muir
MLAs need to "get real" about the environment and provide more funds, NI's agriculture, environment and rural affairs minister has said.
Andrew Muir was answering a question about addressing problems at Lough Neagh.
Last year unprecedented potentially toxic algal blooms were recorded at the lough.
Mr Muir said funding was needed to provide "engagement and education" around the causes of the issues.
These included agricultural run-off and wastewater treatment, according to the minister.
He added that resources were needed for incentives and enforcement.
"If we don't fund any of that, then what do people expect is going to happen in relation to Lough Neagh?
"The situation is going to repeat itself. So we need to fund these interventions."
Blue-green algae has already been reported in several locations around Lough Neagh and elsewhere since the start of 2024.
It can cause skin irritation and stomach upsets in humans, but can be fatal for pets, livestock and wildlife.
Experts have warned that a repeat of the blooms seen last year is likely.
The minister told MLAs they "can't on one hand bemoan the consequences of pollution in Lough Neagh and then not fund the interventions that are required to deal with the source of it".
"We need to get real in relation to the environment here in Northern Ireland," the Alliance Party assembly member added.
"We have a problem here. We need to acknowledge it and we also need to fund it."
The minister added that wastewater infrastructure required investment.
NI Water officials told the Infrastructure Committee recently that the cost of improving sewage and pumping stations in Belfast had risen by 50%.
Mr Muir said there were "difficult choices" to be made around budgets across all departments.
"But if we are going to make something a priority, then what we need to do is we need to be able to fund it."
People Before Profit MLA Gerry Carroll said he was concerned that work to tackle the problems in Lough Neagh, the biggest freshwater lake in these islands, could be "paused" due to budget shortfall.
"A budget cannot be balanced or weighed against crucial natural resources like Lough Neagh," Mr Carroll said.
He accused the minister of "already reneging on plans to tackle the pollution" and said there was no time to waste.
"The minister and his department need to immediately clamp down on the polluters who are poisoning our waterways," Mr Carroll added.
"The state needs to establish an independent environmental protection agency to finally hold all of those who are exploiting Lough Neagh to account."
