'Minister Muir should get off the backs of farmers and start delivering solutions'

In a statement Mr Buckley has accused the DAERA Minister of a continued crusade against farmers.

He added: “ DAERA Minister Andrew Muir issued a statement after his failed attempt to introduce the most punitive penalties regime on farmers. In it, he blamed the farming community for the blue-green algae issue on Lough Neagh and claimed that the Alliance Party was the only one truly concerned about the matter.

"As someone who has lived near the Lough all my life, I find this a demonstration of a blame culture that is unbefitting of the office. The DAERA Minister is supposed to represent the agriculture sector, yet his actions this week aimed at imposing a regime of fines disproportionate to the offence suggest he either didn’t realise how harmful his actions would be, or simply didn’t care. In either case, it’s clear he is not the farmers’ advocate he should be,” added Mr Buckley.

"Under previous administrations, some farms had been fined as much as £60,000 for having a tiny percentage of single tags missing from the herd during an inspection. If Minister Muir understood farming, he would know especially when animals are housed, that it is easy to lose ear tags. The penalties applied by former Minister Poots were much fairer, and Brexit enabled him to make those adjustments. What Minister Muir fails to mention is that agriculture is the only sector that is fined twice for the same offence. If a farmer pollutes a waterway, they are taken to court, fined, and also face a significant penalty on their Single Farm Payment. Meanwhile, his departmental colleagues only face court action. It seems there is one law for the government and a different one for farmers.

"If Minister Muir genuinely wants to tackle the issue of blue-green algae on Lough Neagh, he should take a look at what is happening elsewhere in the world, rather than blaming farmers and fining them for offences that have no direct impact on the Lough. There are many loughs with little to no nitrate or phosphate runoff affecting them that still experience this issue. Aeration is a major factor. For years, I have called for dredging, particularly at the Bannfoot which would improve water flows. The damage done to the Lough’s ecosystem by Zebra Mussels, which have dominated since 2017, has allowed far greater sunlight penetration, contributing to the growth of blue-green algae. Other countries have installed pumps that jet water to create more oxygen, a solution that has proven cost-effective elsewhere.

"Instead of blaming farmers, the Minister should focus on delivering real solutions.”