DUP MP accuses Sinn Féin of 'kicking farmers when they're down' in NI
A DUP MP has accused Sinn Féin of "abandoning Northern Ireland’s agri-food sector and kicking farmers when they’re down".
Carla Lockhart, the DUP Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs spokesperson, made her claims after Sinn Féin indicated its support for a motion brought by SDLP’s - Saving Lough Neagh - to the Stormont Assembly this week.
This motion called for a public consultation on NI's Nutrients Action Programme (NAP) to be withdrawn.
The Northern Ireland Minister for Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs, Andrew Muir, launched a public consultation on the NAP for 2026 to 2029, in May, which he said contains “additional measures which have been developed based on scientific research”.
But the Ulster Farmers' Union (UFU) has warned that these new proposals could “devastate local farming".
Lockhart has accused Sinn Féin of doing a "spectacular U-turn" on its position on the NAP because she said the party had previously supported a motion to "Scrap the NAP".
The DUP Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs spokesperson said: "Agriculture is the cornerstone of the Northern Ireland economy.
"NAP is not a green or orange issue, it’s a disastrous policy a hammer blow for farmers and an ‘industry bombshell’. The current proposals have left farmers from all political backgrounds in fear for their livelihoods and the future of their farm businesses".
The MP also believes the SDLP has "stuck the boot in" with regard to farming, because of its recent proposals to "restore the lough include raising revenue by taxing the profits of top agri-food producers.”
Lockhart added: “The DUP is fully committed to safeguarding the future of Lough Neagh, but it isn’t in agreement with Minister Muir’s anti-farming agenda and his department’s consistent and constant victimisation of farmers.”
However Sinn Féin believes that Lough Neagh has now become "a national emergency".
Speaking during the motion on Saving Lough Neagh in the Northern Ireland Assembly Sinn Féin National Chairperson, Declan Kearney, said that “throughout this summer the catastrophic pollution consuming Lough Neagh, has become even more extreme".
“The intensified pollution of this year must be met with decisive, coordinated action with all relevant stakeholders, including the Fishermen’s Co-Operative Society and the Lough Neagh Partnership.
“The crisis in Lough Neagh should be above party politics.
“We need political agreement, not divergence, in our collective efforts to address this unprecedented ecological emergency," Kearney stated.
