Lough Neagh Partnership rep among those giving evidence about blue-green algae crisis

THE Agriculture and Environment Minister has said he is “fast losing patience” with the Department for Infrastructure over water pollution.

Andrew Muir was speaking at the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee, during a special evidence session on the environmental situation at Lough Neagh.

The lough, which is the UK’s largest freshwater lake by surface area, has been plagued with toxic blue-green algae for the last three summers.

The environmental crisis led to the eel-fishing season being cut short this year, as well as advice against bathing at several beaches and at Rea’s Wood in Antrim.

Mr Muir told MPs that the cause is down to an excess of nutrients from a number of sources, including waste water, septic tanks and agriculture, exasperated by climate change and the invasive species Zebra Mussels.

He said that implementation of the Lough Neagh Recovery Plan is progressing well, with 14 of the 37 actions delivered, with 22 underway, while one remains dependant on another action that is being taken forward.

DUP MP Gavin Robinson highlighted the assessment that one of the “culprits” is NI Water, and noted the body is not responsible to Mr Muir’s department, but to the Department for Infrastructure, and questioned whether Infrastructure Minister Liz Kimmins has “questions to answer”.

Mr Muir responded saying he is “losing patience with Infrastructure”.

He told MPs: “The issue of sewage pollution is an issue of great concern for me, not just in relation to Lough Neagh, but also in other water bodies, such as, for example, Belfast Lough – Belfast Lough is fast becoming the potential to become the next Lough Neagh in Northern Ireland.

“We also have other water bodies, such as, for example, in relation to Lough Erne, and sewage pollution is playing a role in regards to those and that is a concern for me.

“My role sits in terms of regulation and enforcement around pollution, and I’ve been clear that I don’t think it’s acceptable that we have a separate regulatory regime for Northern Ireland Water. I don’t think that’s fair.

“I’m fast losing patience with the Department for Infrastructure in regards to this issue of sewage pollution.

“We need to be brave, and if people bring forward to me proposals to turn the situation around, I’m not going to be found wanting in regards to that.

“But it’s important everyone plays their role, and yes, I think it would be useful if the Minister for Infrastructure would come in front of your committee and engage with you with regards to these issues.

“I’ll come forward and I’ll take responsibility for the stuff that sits on my shoulders but others need to do the same as well. I think it’s important we do that.”

Mr Muir said he has been ‘very clear that we need to have stronger legislation and enforcement around sewage pollution’, adding that the situation at the moment is ‘not tenable’.

“I’ll be bringing a paper to Executive colleagues in the time ahead in relation to this,” he said.

Meanwhile in terms of the Nutrient Action Programme, Mr Muir said he has set up a group to look at consultation responses and any alternative proposals, and he is expecting a report before Christmas. Mr Muir also urged MPs to listen to scientists, telling then that the situation had been warned of.

“It’s really important we listen to scientists, and my concern in recent times has been the deliberate debasing of science and evidence in terms of peer-reviewed academic research around the situations we are facing,” he said.

“It’s important to respect science and evidence, and to take action in response to it.”

In an earlier session with Lough users, Kathleen McBride of the Lough Neagh Fishermen’s Co-operative Society said over the last three years, their members have seen a “deterioration in the quantities of fish being fished”.

“You’ll also be aware of the quality of the eel now being captured,” she told MPs.

“From a commercial perspective, we are the industry that has suffered most at the heart of this, and we feel that the lough itself has to be brought back to some sort of balance going forward, because we went from a reasonable income for fishermen last year, to having absolutely nothing, because of the situation with the eels.

“If that was to happen in any other industry, there would be an outcry,.”

Meanwhile, Gerry Darby, manager of the Lough Neagh Partnership, said there has also been significant habitat loss around the shores of the lough, with 12% of species at extinction, and just four breeding pairs of curlew left on the shores.

Meanwhile the investigative website Factcheck NI has delved into claims that most of the phosphorus - over 6-% - in the lough comes from.

It’s been reported that the NEW Harmonica project, a collaboration between AFBI and various universities, suggests 61% of the lough’s phosphorus comes from agriculture while a total of 30.3% is from the wastewater system and septic tanks.

A full report from this project is due in the new year. The RePhoKu study cited in Stormont’s Lough Neagh action plan says that 62% of the phosphorus in all NI’s waterways – not just the lough – stems from agri sources while a further 36% is from wastewater and septic tanks.

The report said: “Both of these pieces of research provide evidence to support the claim – although anyone interested in this topic should keep an eye out for the full report from NEW Harmonica due in 2026.

“In 2023, Lough Neagh drew widespread attention when blue-green algae (cyanobacteria) turned it bright green, sparking public concern over water quality.

“The blue-green algae is damaging the ecosystem of the Lough. Exposure to the water can cause illness in humans and be toxic for animals.

“The algae forced the suspension of Lough Neagh’s eel industry in 2024 and caused other negative impacts.

“In 2025, the Chartered Institution for Water and Environmental Systems called the situation an emergency.”

The July 2024 Lough Neagh Report and Action Plan, developed by the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) in conjunction with officials from the Department of Infrastructure (DfI) and NI Water (NIW) explains that various factors combined in 2023 to cause the spread of blue-green algae in the Lough: Pollution, climate change raising water temperatures and invasive Zebra mussels, which make water clearer. which in turn helps algae grow.

The NEW Harmonica is a team ran a model for the reference year 2021 using available data, taking account of direct inputs into Lough Neagh as well as all the rivers that flow into it. The Neagh-Bann catchment covers an area of over 8000 square kilometres, and spans both sides of the Irish border.

The report concluded that the claims were accurate, based on the available information.