'Important moment' for Lough Neagh, as plan approved

The Northern Ireland Executive approved an action plan for the future of Lough Neagh at a meeting on Thursday.

Minister of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs Andrew Muir said he was "glad the executive was able to agree" the report and action plan.

The lough has been affected by blue-green algal blooms in recent months.

Twenty of the plan’s 37 actions have already been given the go-ahead as they fell to the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA).

But the remaining 17 actions were cross-cutting and required executive consent.

The future management of the Lough was the focus of meetings on Wednesday between the minister and the owner of the lough’s soil and bed.

Mr Muir said today marked "an important moment for Lough Neagh".

And despite a "a lot of work that is already underway", he said more needs to be done in relation to the future of the lough.

The minister said that so recently as this morning he was "engaging with" his ministerial colleagues in relation to the plan.

He said that he intends to "lead the way in terms of taking actions".

And he described how "there’s no quick wins here but its important we make a start".

"I am going to be working night and day with officials in terms of taking this forward," Mr Muir said.

Speaking about the long-awaited environmental improvement plan, Mr Muir said he was "bitterly disappointed" that it had still not been agreed.

The Earl of Shaftesbury said his discussions with Andrew Muir had been “constructive”.

Nicholas Ashley-Cooper has previously outlined his preference to transfer his ownership to charity or community trust model, with Rights of Nature involved.

Gary McErlain, Chair of Lough Neagh Partnership, welcomed the news.

Mr McErlain said: “Approving the plan marks an important and positive step in beginning to address the future of Lough Neagh".

He said it was "a momentous day for everyone who lives around the shoreline, who plays on the beaches and...who makes a living from the Lough".

But "the real work starts now as nothing has been done on the ground as yet," he said.

Last year, the lough, the UK's largest freshwater lake, was blighted by large blooms of the potentially toxic blue-green algae.

It supplies about half of Belfast's drinking water and about 40% of Northern Ireland's overall.

The Shaftesbury estate has held ownership of the bed and soil of Lough Neagh since the 19th century, after the Chichester family took control in the 17th century.

Lord Shaftesbury, who is the 12th member of his family to hold the title of earl of Shaftesbury, told BBC News NI last year he was open to the idea of selling the Lough but would not be giving it away.

At the start of June, Mr Muir announced a range of actions to tackle the problems of Lough Neagh.

The measures are part of the Lough Neagh Report and Action Plan that fall under his department.

They included a research initiative as well as a tree-planting project and programmes aimed at supporting farmers and slurry spreaders.

In a statement released on Tuesday, the Lough Neagh Partnership expressed "profound disappointment over the Northern Ireland Executive’s failure to approve a critical action plan to prioritise addressing this environmental catastrophe".

Gerry Darby from the group said: “It has come as no surprise that the algae is back with a vengeance, as it was only a matter of time with the right weather conditions that it would reappear."

In July 2023, blue-green algae had appeared on Lough Neagh at a level not seen since the 1970s.

In 2024, the Department for Agriculture, Environment, and Rural Affairs (Daera) recorded 47 confirmed reports of blue-green algae.

Seventeen of these confirmed sightings have been on Lough Neagh.

On Tuesday, Daera advised people against bathing at Rea's Wood in Lough Neagh due to "the presence of a thick algal scum".

For more on this story you can catch-up on Spotlight's The Lough Neagh Monster, first broadcast in June 2024, here.