In our Programme for Government the Northern Ireland Executive set out to improve the management of Lough Neagh, the largest freshwater body in these isles. The lough is one of our greatest natural resources, supplying water to 40% of our population and supporting livelihoods in the area. It is one of the most important ecological features not only on the island of Ireland, but within the world due to its large size and the unique wetland habitat provided. In recognition of these qualities, Lough Neagh holds special status within both international and retained European environmental law in addition to statutory protection under Northern Irish law.

It has, therefore, been an unfortunate fact that the environmental quality of the lough has fallen over past decades. Illegal sand dredging, exposure to polluting effluent, and fractured management have reduced water quality and wildlife populations substantially; over the last three decades the population of birds alone has declined by 75%. While the Executive has worked hard to address the former two issues, by improving enforcement against environmental crimes and removing polluting subsidies, the issue of management remains vital to addressing the environmental ills of our greatest commons. It is this area that the Executive aims to address today.

Our ambition is to bring the lough into the control of the communities which jointly manage it. Under planning and development law, principally the Planning (Northern Ireland) Order 1991, the Department for Infrastructure will draft a plan and then compulsorily purchase the lough bed. To do this, the Executive has decided to set aside a £7 million lump sum for compensation to Shaftesbury estate as they are the current proprietors of the lough bed. This valuation is based on an independent assessment and is inflation-adjusted. No new legislation is needed for this.

Once the lough bed has been legally purchased, the title will be transferred to the Department for Agriculture, Environment, and Rural Affairs who will have registered a company limited by guarantee alongside adjoining district councils. The lough, and any other adjoining land that the district councils wish to add, will lie under a non-profit, community-led entity known as the Lough Neagh Conservation and Development Trust. For tax purposes, it will seek to attain charitable status so that it can more easily manage the lough and support adjoining communities in an efficient manner. This development trust will have conservation of the lough and economic improvement for communities near it at the heart of its mission.

We believe this sort of management structure has a number of benefits. It will guarantee stability and surety over the management of Lough Neagh for the future as the property will be removed from being considered for any future sale. It will ensure that there is local, not top-down, control while still bringing some of the benefits that come from joined-up working among the multiple adjoining councils. It must be noted that local people have long sought to better promote activities like tourism and recreation yet have so far struggled to realise this ambition; this sort of lough-wide approach can enable these activities much more easily. Finally, it will create a stronger public incentive to improve the protection of this natural resource, as damage from illegal dredging or otherwise will be a cost more directly faced by the public rather than the status quo.

Minister of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs - u/comped MLA

Minister of Finance - u/SoSaturnistic MLA