IFA Impresses On Minister Canney Need For Action On Flooding

At a meeting with OPW Minister Sean Canney, IFA President Joe Healy said farmers have an expectation that significant efforts will be made to alleviate flooding, which has become more frequent in recent times.

Joe Healy said the consultation on the recently published Draft Shannon CFRAM is an opportunity to put in place measures that will address the flooding issues, which previous governments have failed to tackle.

The IFA President also pointed out that environmental designations must not be allowed to hold back necessary work that needs to be carried out to alleviate flooding. The public good must be paramount in decisions on the protection of households, farmland and other businesses along the river and surrounding areas.

At the same meeting, IFA Flood Project Chairman Padraic Joyce highlighted the ongoing problems where water levels on some turloughs in the west of Ireland have not sufficiently gone down. There are still instances of houses flooded and roads impassable in some areas.

Padraic Joyce said turloughs must be part of a flood management strategy and he called for the necessary expertise to be employed in these areas to find a solution to the problem.

The Flood Project Chairman also pointed out that there are still works being held up in areas where money has been allocated under the minor works scheme. It is up to Minister Canney to ensure that all impediments, whether by local authority, NPWS, or any other agency, are tackled so that flood relief measures can go ahead.