The scale of change needed to tackle environmental problems at Lough Neagh is unprecedented, the North's Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs Minister Andrew Muir has said.
Mr Muir also said he was “mortified” that the UK’s environmental watchdog is investigating his department over a failure to adopt Northern Ireland’s first environment strategy, as he urged colleagues on the Northern Ireland Executive to approve the plan.
The minister met with stakeholders, including farming groups, at Ballyronan Marina on the shores of the lough on Tuesday, to discuss the Lough Neagh Action Plan which was agreed by the Stormont Executive last week.
Noxious blooms of blue-green algae covered large parts of the lough last summer and also affected other waterways and beaches in the region.
The algae has returned this year.
Lough Neagh, the biggest freshwater lake by surface area in Ireland or the UK, supplies 40% of Northern Ireland’s drinking water and sustains a major eel-fishing industry.
The action plan was developed in an attempt to deal with the various environmental issues at the lough and contains 37 proposals, 17 of which needed full Executive support.
However, Mr Muir said attention now turned to the pace of how the actions could be implemented and the funding required.
He said: “The scale of the challenge in relation to Lough Neagh is immense, but I am not daunted by it.
“I owe it to the people of Northern Ireland that we address these issues together.
“There is lots that needs to be done and two of the key challenges are in relation to the pace that we can move the implementation of the actions and also the funding required.
“I will put my shoulder to the wheel, I will lead from the front.”
Following his discussion with groups including the Lough Neagh Partnership, the Ulster Farmers’ Union, NI Agricultural Producers Association and Northern Ireland Environment Link, the minister said he had committed to a quarterly meeting of stakeholders.
He added: “We need the funding to deliver the actions required around this. We also need to move at a really fast pace.
“The scale of change that is required here is unprecedented, we need interventions, not just in relation to agriculture but also in waste-water infrastructure.”
Mr Muir also said it was now a year since the Executive should have published its Environmental Improvement Plan (EIP), which will become Northern Ireland’s first environmental strategy.
He said: “I would urge my Executive colleagues to join me and let’s get this adopted to meet our statutory obligation.”
Asked if he was confident other Stormont ministers would back continued action over Lough Neagh, Mr Muir said: “I am confident I will move at the pace that is required.
“I am an energetic minister, I will put my shoulder to the wheel.
“I would say to other parties, when you make manifesto commitments that you are going to address the issues associated with Lough Neagh, back them up, support me.
“Let’s see that we can get the Environmental Improvement Plan for Northern Ireland agreed.
“We should not have a situation where one year later, our statutory obligations to agree what would be Northern Ireland’s first environment strategy is not yet adopted.
“We need to match the words with action.”
He added: “I am mortified that the Office of Environmental Protection is investigating us because we haven’t adopted a plan which was meant to be adopted a year ago.”
Gerry Darby from the Lough Neagh Partnership said it had been a positive meeting with the minister. He said: “Everybody agreed it was a good start, everybody agreed it is good that the minister has done his job, which is the political side of things and got the plan signed off by the Executive.
“We are looking forward to working with the department and other departments to take the plan forward.
“The other general agreement is that there is no quick fix, we all know what the issues are.”
Nitrogen and phosphorus from agricultural fertiliser running off fields is believed to be a major contributory factor in the blue-green algae blooms.
The spread of the invasive zebra mussel species is also understood to have played a role in the blooms, as they have made the water clearer, allowing more sunlight to penetrate, stimulating more algal photosynthesis.
Climate change is another factor cited, with the highest water temperature at Lough Neagh recorded last June.
