Pat Catney questions parties’ failure to act on Lough Neagh

Councillor Catney has challenged parties to explain their reasons for not signing the SDLP’s Assembly recall petition to address the issues at the lough.

The petition has been signed by SDLP MLAs and Gerry Carroll MLA, but requires the support of 30 MLAs to proceed.

Councillor Catney said: “It is clear that people in this area are gravely concerned about the future of Lough Neagh. The spread of blue-green algae is unlike anything that has ever been seen before, the lough itself is off-limits, wildlife is dying, the environment is suffering and local businesses are being impacted. It cannot be overstated how serious this situation is, which makes certain parties’ failure to act all the more baffling.”

He continued: “The SDLP recognises the stark challenges facing both the short and long-term future of the lough and we also acknowledge how strongly the public feels about protecting one of our greatest natural resources. That’s why we have brought forward a petition to recall the Assembly so that MLAs can do their jobs and discuss how we address the issues at the lough immediately, while putting a long-term plan in place to safeguard its future.

“The silence from MLAs in this area, many of them on the record about how important they believe protecting the lough is, has been deafening. Every day I have members of the public approaching me asking when politicians are going to do something about the state of the lough and I believe they should be asking those who have yet to sign our petition to explain themselves.”

The SDLP councillor concluded: “This is not an issue that can be allowed to drift, this lough provides a huge amount of the north’s drinking water, what is happening there is a full-scale environmental disaster and we must examine every lever available to us to act. Excuses won’t wash with people when it comes to Lough Neagh, I urge parties to do the right thing, sign our recall petition and get back to work to address these issues. The public want us to sort this out and it’s time that we got on with it.”