To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs for an update on actions taken to address water quality in rivers, lakes and loughs.

I am aware that water quality across Northern Ireland is not what it should be, however work to improve the water quality of our waterbodies will require collective action across government, the public and private sectors and also wider society.

I continue to engage with Executive colleagues to seek their approval of the draft Environmental Improvement Plan, the first for Northern Ireland, which lays out my commitment to improving water quality.

The draft EIP contains the requirement to publish a third cycle River Basin Management Plan for the period 2021-2027 taking an integrated approach to the protection, improvement and sustainable use of the water environment and containing a Programme of Measures setting out the actions required to protect and improve all water bodies – rivers, lakes, marine (coastal and transitional) water bodies and groundwater.

Although still in draft, the plan has been prepared and consulted on, however, I will need time to consider it in the context of emerging information, including reports from the Northern Ireland Audit Office, the Office for Environmental Protection and the Lough Neagh Report before bringing it to the Executive for approval.

My focus is to complete this programme of work as soon as possible with my vision to have an environment where our water bodies are at “good” status or better, they support biodiversity and contribute to the health and well-being of everyone.