Northern Ireland

Environmentalists unimpressed by Stormont plan for saving Lough Neagh

The 37-point ‘action plan’ was agreed by the executive on Thursday

Algae in the Bartins Bay Area of Lough Neagh on Thursday. PICTURE COLM LENAGHAN
Toxic algal blooms have returned to Lough Neagh. PICTURE COLM LENAGHAN
By John Manley, Politics Correspondent

The action plan designed to arrest Lough Neagh’s rapid decline has been dismissed by environmentalists as signalling “business as usual”.

The 37-point plan includes a mixture of educational and awareness initiatives, along with measures aimed at reducing the impact of nutrient run-off from agriculture.

However, it falls well short of any substantive action to curb slurry spreading in the expansive Lough Neagh catchment, which is regarded as the main contributing factor in the recent environmental crisis.

Friends of the Earth director James Orr said the 37-point plan agreed by the executive on Thursday was merely an effort to “rearrange the deckchairs on the Titanic”.

James Orr, Friends of the Earth NI director
Friends of the Earth NI director James Orr,

“When the lough is crying out for transformational change we are being offered a plan that is business as usual,” he said.

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The Save Lough Neagh campaign group said the plan was “heavy on education, voluntary measures and talk of further consultations but very weak on actual regulation and concrete action”.

“Most concerning is the lack of information on changes to the ownership model, impeding progress and public input into governance, and the fact that there is no commitment to bringing an end to the disastrous Going For Growth intensified agri-policy which the five main Stormont parties approved,” its statement said.

SDLP MLA Patsy McGlone said he has requested an urgent meeting of Stormont’s agriculture and environment committee to discuss the plan and to “drill down into the detail, outcomes and timeframes”.

“I’ve gone through the Lough Neagh action plan in detail and while there are some good ideas and proposals which are very welcome, the number of mentions of reviews, scoping exercises and consultations leaves parts of the document drifting,” he said.

“It’s been over a year since we first saw the worst of blue/green algae on the lough - people are entitled to see urgent action from the executive.

The Mid Ulster representative also voiced concern that the plan’s contents had been watered down following reports that it was being blocked by the DUP.

“I hope that hasn’t been deliberate to dumb it down a bit to get it through the DUP at executive,” he said.