Losses in 'hundreds of millions' for farmers
Saturday November 21 2009
THE cost of flood damage to farms across the country could run into hundreds of millions of euro, the Irish Farmers Association (IFA) warned last night.
IFA President Padraig Walshe said the farming community had been substantially hit by fierce weather conditions over the last week.
And he insisted the level of destruction to animal feed and silage bales would leave farmers out of pocket for months.
Farmers in the southern part of Galway county are facing the worst floods since the disastrous deluge of 1995 when fodder had to be airlifted in for starving animals.
Communities have been cut off as floods hit local roads, while the villages of Craughwell and Menlough saw their centres transformed into lakes by the torrential rainfall.
Many homes and businesses in Cork were also flooded when the River Lee burst its banks overnight. The Defence Forces have deployed more than 110 soldiers, 15 off-road trucks and four flat-bottomed boats to assist civil authorities in dealing with the water levels.
And last night Mr Walshe said the crisis was the latest to hit the struggling farming sector. "The damage we have seen is unreal. It is impossible to estimate the cost but it could run into hundreds of millions," he said.
Saturated
"Farmers have seen their feed damaged and their silage bales saturated.
"The ground will be destroyed for the next few months if the rain doesn't clear," he added.
Mr Walshe pointed out that many people had been forced to hold their livestock in neighbouring sheds after their own were completely flooded.
Others had seen their silage bails under water as a result of the harsh weather conditions. "Galway, Cork and Kerry are the worst hit in all of this," he said.
- Patricia McDonagh
Irish Independent
