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Agriculture (Northern Ireland)

I begin by echoing the concerns of the two hon. Gentleman who have spoken so far. I am sure that the Minister will confirm that it is her full intention that the whole Government should fight for our agriculture industry, particularly with respect to farms in Northern Ireland, where agriculture is obviously more important than in other areas of the United Kingdom. I should like to speak about green issues. Not a lot of people know this, but my party has nominated me green Minister for Northern Ireland, which is a great honour. [Interruption.] Shadow Minister, that is, I hasten to reassure the Minister. I want to speak about the national industrial symbiosis programme. The hon. Gentlemen who have spoken mentioned alternative uses for slurry and referred to the lack of investment in anaerobic digestion—both issues are crying out for investment in Northern Ireland. The Government's refusal to allocate funds under NISP, as it is colloquially known, has greatly hampered the farming industry in adapting to change as it needs to do. I wrote to the Minister about the lack of NISP funding for Northern Ireland. The programme tries to marry different types of industry in a symbiotic way, so that, for example, slurry can be used for different purposes. It allows different parts of industry to work together in new and innovative ways, particularly those that help the environment. When I wrote to the Minister, she responded:"““As part of the Priorities and Budget process, decisions on the allocation of resources have to be taken in the context of local needs and priorities. Therefore, in this instance, it was decided to allocate these resources elsewhere within the Northern Ireland Block where the need is greatest.””" Will the Minister say just where that need is greatest, given that we are talking about an industry that is suffering as a result of gold-plated European directives, and that faces all sorts of challenges? How is Northern Ireland agriculture to reshape and reform itself to meet challenges, which are not only industrial but environmental and global, if it is not to receive the support that is being enjoyed by other parts of the United Kingdom?