Sinn Féin TD for Roscommon/Galway Claire Kerrane has asked the Tánaiste to ensure that Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue provides supports for farmers affected by summer flooding in the Shannon Callows.
Raising the issue with the Tánaiste in the Dáil, Deputy Kerrane said, “Once again, farmers and their lands have been absolutely devastated by flooding over the summer months.
“Farmers are under huge financial pressure. They face absolute wipe-out. They have no silage, hay or fodder for the winter months. They urgently need support from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. The Save our Shannon Organisation has written to the Minister, Deputy McConalogue, three times and still awaits a comprehensive response. I am asking that these farmers be supported by the Department urgently in the short-term.
“In the longer term, I am asking for a single agency for the River Shannon to manage it once and for all and that one agency would be responsible for it and accountable.
“I, along with colleagues, brought forward legislation nearly three years ago. When our legislation was debated in November 2020, Minister O’Donovan said he wanted to bring forward his own legislation and asked us to give him nine months to do that.
“We are nearly three years down the line and there is still no legislation for the management of the River Shannon. This is not good enough. We cannot keep allowing flooding to devastate farmers, homes, and lands over and over again”.
