Part of Question for Urgent Oral Answer — Infrastructure – in the Northern Ireland Assembly at 3:45 pm on 16 September 2024.
John O'Dowd
Sinn Féin
3:45,
16 September 2024
On the point about water testing, I suggest that it is probably best if customers allow NI Water to take the water directly from the tap. If you put it into a container, the container may already be contaminated with another substance. The longer that it sits, the higher the chance that it may upset the testing. So, if a customer has concerns, it is probably best if they contact NI Water directly and samples are taken at source.
You are spot on about planting trees and working with the network of streams and rivers and about the run-off that comes into Lough Neagh from a very wide geographical area. That goes back to my point about working with nature rather than against it. I note that the action plan includes proposals on that. I also note and welcome the work of organisations such as the Lough Neagh Partnership, which works with farmers along the lough shore and has been carrying out great work for many years there by fencing off areas, keeping cattle away and planting trees. You talked about planting bushes and shrubbery. As I said, there will have to be hard engineering solutions in and around the lough and elsewhere, it has to be said, but there are also solutions in nature that we need to explore.