Gerry Darby, manager of the Lough Neagh Partnership community organisation, has said domestic water charges must be considered to modernise the sewerage system, despite being “political dynamite”.

This courageous attempt to shift the parameters of the argument is unlikely to succeed. Sinn Féin will never agree to water charges and the DUP is only too happy to hide behind Sinn Féin.

Darby added the only alternatives are cutting spending elsewhere or asking Westminster for more money, but there is another option: the developer levy promised by Sinn Féin infrastructure minister John O’Dowd.

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While the idea has its flaws, it is the only politically workable solution yet proposed. Environmental campaigners should hold O’Dowd to it and ensure it is not a diversion, as the party is suspiciously reluctant to promote it.

The very least we should expect from Sinn Féin is that it supports Sinn Féin policy.

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More use could be made of the political power of the angling lobby to help Lough Neagh and address water pollution in general.

In 2023, invasive zebra mussels spread from the lough into the Movanagher fish farm near Ballymoney, from where the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs restocks Northern Ireland’s public angling estate. The department has suspended........

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