Labour TD Michael McCarthy will today (Tuesday) chair the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht where the problems and difficulties encountered by farmers due to flooding will take centre stage. McCarthy said: “Over the past number of years, a number of areas in the country have experienced extreme and increasingly frequent weather events, particularly flooding. This has been particularly disastrous for farmers with hundreds of acres of farmland submerged or badly flooded following constant heavy rain in the past year. Tens of millions of euros of damage has been caused to farmland around the country. Silage and hay crops were lost to floods last summer and yields were reduced, leaving farmers without winter fodder. In some cases, it was impossible to put animals out on farmland or use machinery on the land leading to some farmers facing crippling losses. Tomorrow, we will meet with the IFA to get up to date information about how serious the flooding issue has been for farmers, to put a figure on the losses the farming community has sustained and to get its views on what measures need to be put in place to help alleviate the suffering and damage caused. “The problems people are experiencing with flooding and the impact of extreme weather on our communities will form a key part of the Committee’s agenda in coming months. We have already met with the Irish Insurance Federation to discuss the difficulties obtaining home insurance in areas which have experienced extreme weather events, such as flooding.”
12th February, 2013