Oral Answers to Questions — Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs – in the Northern Ireland Assembly am 3:15 pm ar 19 Chwefror 2024.
T7. Mr Carroll asked the Minister of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs, in light of the fact that, the other day, he said that he would meet the Earl of Shaftesbury to discuss Lough Neagh and other issues, whether he will demand that the earl return the lough to the people, given that his ancestors stole it. (AQT 17/22-27)
Many issues will be discussed in the meeting this week. If people think that ownership will be the solution to the problems of Lough Neagh, they are badly mistaken. There are big issues there that we need to address. We all have to face up to some really hard decisions, and I will outline those in the next weeks. Let us be clear: there is not an easy solution for Lough Neagh. Big, hard decisions and funding will be required to turn the situation around.
Thank you, Minister. I urge you to make sure that the demand to take the lough back into public ownership is made categorically to the earl. What penalties do you think the earl should receive for the mismanaged decline of the lough? If you drop litter on the street, you are fined. There cannot be an exemption from fines for the mismanagement and decline of the lough just because somebody comes from the landed aristocracy. Do you think that he and his company should be liable for fines, given the state and the decline of the lough?
In approaching the Lough Neagh issue, we have probably three tools: one is education, and that is probably the one that we need to divert to first; the second is regulation; and the last is enforcement. If we get into the game of issuing fines, we have failed. We will probably have to move to that, because some people will not go with us, but I want to bring people with us in turning the situation around. I will look for the support of the entire Chamber for the plan for Lough Neagh.
It is easy, in discussions around Lough Neagh, to say that the situation is appalling but, on the other hand, run away when we have to take really difficult policy decisions. The Lough Neagh situation did not occur just out of the blue; it occurred because of generations of environmental misgovernance in Northern Ireland. We have to recognise that Lough Neagh is an example of what we want to make sure never occurs again.