3. Mr Dunne asked the Minister of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs what measures his Department is taking to address poor water quality around the North Down coastline. (AQO 22/22-27)

I thank the Member for his question; this is something that is very close to my heart. My Department seeks to improve water quality through the mechanisms outlined in the river basin management plans, which also cover coastal waters. Before bringing the third river basin management plan to the Executive, I will need to consider the outworkings of the water quality review on Lough Neagh and the reports of the Office for Environmental Protection and the Northern Ireland Audit Office, which are due to be published in the near future. The primary sources of pollution are agricultural run-off and waste water. I will be examining how we tackle pollution from agriculture through measures like the review of the nutrient action programme. The proposals will also include working with Northern Ireland Water to target waste water infrastructure investment.

I thank the Minister for his answer and congratulate him on his appointment. Last summer, as he will know, Brompton bay, Donaghadee bay and Ballyholme beach all failed minimum water quality tests and were given a poor rating by his Department. With the popularity of open-sea swimming and the European yachting event, does he feel that, as he stated with Lough Neagh, it could take decades to solve?

I am very conscious that this is an issue that requires many Departments to feed into it. As I outlined in my answer, agricultural run-off and waste water infrastructure are two of the primary causes of pollution. We need to invest in waste water infrastructure, and I will be looking to my colleague in the Department for Infrastructure for investment around that, which will flow from the Department of Finance.

We know what actions are required in relation to agricultural run-off, but I need support from the sector and from the Department of Finance so that we can make the investments to address the situation. It should not be like this, but we have to work together to turn it around. I am conscious that sea swimming is a very popular activity that people are engaging in, but they need to do it with confidence that it is safe.

I thank the Minister for coming to the Chamber today and congratulate him on taking up his new role. Will he join me to meet sea-swimming groups in North Down to discuss the impact that it is having on them when water quality does not meet expectations?

I thank the Member for her question, and I would be delighted to do that. It is important to hear their concerns, which are not just in relation to water quality but about sampling and reporting so that people are aware when it is safe to swim. I will be happy to meet those groups.

I welcome the Minister to his post. Can he confirm whether his Department is aware of any issues around agricultural run-offs or overflows from Northern Ireland Water outlets into the Cotton river, which enters the sea at Ballyholme bay, Bangor?

I am indeed, and, as a Constituency MLA, I met the chief executive of Northern Ireland Water on Friday. That issue is in one of its plans. Ballyholme beach has been plagued with issues of water quality, so we need to have a specific focus on how we can turn that around.