Ag Committee chair calls for withdrawal of NAP public consultation
The chairperson of the Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (AERA) Committee, Robbie Butler has called for the withdrawal of the current Nutrients Action Programme (NAP) public consultation in Northern Ireland.
Butler did so courtesy of his contribution to a Stormont Assembly debate on the matter earlier this week.
Butler said in his address: 'There is no doubt that improving water quality in Lough Neagh and in our rivers is essential.
'No one in this chamber, and certainly no one in our rural communities, denies the scale of the problem.'
NAP public consultation
The AERA committee chair went on to explain why he felt the NAP public consultation should be withdrawn.
' But we must be honest: the proposals currently on the table risk alienating the very people whose buy-in, expertise and practical action are essential to achieving real, lasting change,' Butler said.
'Over 3,500 farms face the prospect of stricter phosphorus limits, compulsory buffer strips, and mandatory investment in low-emission slurry equipment.
'These NAP proposals are not being introduced into a vacuum. They come at a time of immense financial pressure, workforce stress, and a growing sense of disconnect between policy-makers and those working the land.'
The AERA committee chairperson went on to confirm his attendance at a recent service of remembrance to honour those who have died on farms, whether by tragic accident or by suicide.
He said: 'That reality is a sobering reminder of the toll these pressures are already taking.
'With serious and very real pressures growing on family farms in Northern Ireland, we must without doubt face up to our environmental responsibilities: but we must not break our farmers to do so.
'That's why I support the call for the withdrawal of the NAP consultation: not to abandon progress, but to create space for a better, fairer, more joined-up approach. One that is evidence-based, co-designed, and genuinely multi-sectoral.'
Threats to water quality
But the Lagan Valley-based Ulster Unionist Party politician feels that simply to end the NAP public consultation process does not go far enough.
He said he wants to ensure that agriculture is not seen as the only source of pollution affecting Lough Neagh. Nor is it the only sector in need of reform.
Butler explained: 'Water quality in our rivers and lakes is being degraded not just by nutrient runoff, but also by inadequate wastewater treatment infrastructure, industrial discharge, urban runoff, and rising temperatures driven by climate change.
'Invasive species like zebra mussels have altered the very ecology of the lough.
'The question of whether to dredge or not to dredge remains contentious. These wider factors must be part of the conversation too : not pushed to the sidelines.'
Butler outlined the type of strategy he felt should replace the current NAP public consultation.
'If we isolate agriculture while ignoring these other pressures, we risk making the same mistakes again. Worse still, we risk losing the confidence of rural communities; communities who want to be part of the solution but too often feel they are treated as the problem.'
'That's why we need a reset. A strategy that respects farmers, rewards best practice, and reflects the collective responsibility we all share for protecting our environment.
'That includes collaboration between the minister for agriculture, environment and rural affairs and the minister for infrastructure — particularly around the chronic underinvestment in wastewater infrastructure that continues to contribute to pollution across the region.'
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