Armagh City, Banbridge & Craigavon Councillor Catherine Nelson has called for a task force to be set up to address pollution issues in Lough Neagh, and help safeguard a unique environmental resource with its precious ecosystem.
Speaking at Tuesday night’s (August 26) monthly meeting of Armagh City, Banbridge & Craigavon (ABC) Borough Council, the Sinn Féin representative for Craigavon DEA stated: “[I want] to raise the crisis that is unfolding in Lough Neagh.
“Each and every one of us has a role to play. Tonight’s not about a blame game, politicisation, point scoring. It’s genuinely just about saving our lough. And I recognise how complex this is.
“Fishermen, farmers, leisure users, communities, it’s all bound together, and I envy no one who is tasked with resolving it.
“We do need to be honest with the public about the fact that it is something that’s going to take some years.
“That’s why we need a clear plan, one that gives confidence to our communities that change is happening and that the lough has a future.
“But in the meantime, urgent support is needed for our fishermen. They have lost their livelihoods overnight.
“Families with centuries of tradition are watching it vanish before their eyes, and I don’t want to stand by while this proud way of life is erased. They need a financial package, and they need it now.
“I do, however, want to acknowledge [DAERA] Minister [Andrew] Muir. He has engaged with me regularly and the fishing community. He understands genuinely the devastation this crisis is causing.
“He recognises that for the first time in history, the brown eel season is closed and he realises the seriousness of that.
“Eel fishing is part of the soul of Lough Neagh. Our communities cannot afford to lose it, and I am grateful to him for the time and effort that he has put in in recent weeks and months.
“But we do need to be honest with ourselves. If you live in a rural area and your sewage pipe connects into DfI drains, you have a responsibility. DfI have a responsibility.
“If you dump rubbish on the shores of our lough, you also have a responsibility.
“Tonight I’m raising it here because I do believe the council has a responsibility that we’re not living up to.
“I don’t want to spend months arguing over ownership of the lough, because the truth is, the pollution doesn’t care.
“The water from the lough is flowing out of many of our taps. So as a council we have an opportunity to lead, not just sit on the sidelines.
“So what I’m proposing tonight is that we look to establishing a task force, that we bring in neighbouring councils, fishermen, farmers, Waterways Ireland, etc. around the table, and that we also write to the EU to seek further support, because I do believe there’s a win here for everyone.
“Cleaner water equals stronger communities, preserved traditions, and a living lough for the generations ahead.
“History will judge us harshly if we don’t act, and act now.”
Councillor Peter Lavery echoed Cllr Nelson’s remarks, and stressed that improving water quality in the lough would be a long-term challenge.
The Alliance representative for Lurgan DEA stated: “I’d like to begin by seconding Cllr Nelson’s proposals, and thanking her for her positive words about the actions of Minister Muir, the DAERA Minister, regarding action to try and reduce pollution in Lough Neagh.
“This is a long-term project to get Lough Neagh, its waterways and its tributaries back to where they need to be.
“It’s been a long problem in the making. We do need to make sure we’re doing everything we can as elected representatives, to ensure that we’re supporting a solution.
“That’s to try and reduce the 62% of the pollution coming from agriculture, the 24% coming from the wastewater sewage network, and the 12% regarding septic tank issues.
“It is in our power to take action that will require difficult decisions.
“We need to have the political leadership to take those difficult decisions, and to get our lough back to where it needs to be, whether it’s for the fishermen, whether it’s for the environment, the biodiversity, and all of us who live near and close to Lough Neagh and hold it in our hearts, to get it back where it needs to be.”
