Part of Ministerial Statements – in the Northern Ireland Assembly am 11:45 am ar 25 Mehefin 2024.
I am here to answer questions on agriculture, environment and rural affairs. Those other matters are for outside the Chamber.
When the institutions were established in 1998, it was an oversight that no body existed to cover Lough Neagh. Navigation is not one of the key issues in the Lough Neagh report, but I get that, and I want to engage with colleagues on it over the time ahead. Let us be clear: my immediate focus is on the water quality issues that are associated with Lough Neagh and taking immediate action on that, but I get that it is rather unusual that Lough Neagh has not been covered by a body such as the Loughs Agency or Waterways Ireland. That needs to be considered, so it is a legitimate point to make.