IFA Connacht Regional Chair Pat Murphy said that action must be taken now to avoid severe flooding along the River Shannon this winter.
Farmers want the OPW to take a preventative approach this winter when managing the Shannon’s water levels, while ensuring that it doesn’t cause problems further downstream.
Pat Murphy highlighted the need to avoid the disastrous flooding of 2009 which saw hundreds of farms and farmyards along the Shannon flooded, resulting in livestock being left without winter housing and serious financial implications for the affected farmers.
“There has been a clear increase in rainfall over the past number of weeks and farmers are contacting me worried about the rising water levels and increased risk of flooding,” Pat Murphy said.
“We need Minister Patrick O’Donovan and the OPW implement a plan now while the water levels remain below dangerous levels. We cannot have a similar scenario to the flooding in 2009, farmers are under enough pressure at the moment without having to worry about their homes, yards and land being submerged in flooding,” he said.
IFA Connacht Regional Chair Pat Murphy has requested a meeting with Minister O’Donovan and the OPW to highlight farmers’ concerns.
