Fury as floods wreak havoc

THE flooding of last weekend with its Super Saturday downpour is now being rated by many farmers as worse than the flood event of November, 2009, with tens of thousands of acres of land across the country covered in water.

All rivers across the county have burst their banks in some places with Ballinasloe, Portumna and South Galway the worst affected as the floods dhave again returned with a vengeance.

According to Tom Turley, Chairman of the IFA’s Flood Project Team, there are 25 acres of land in the Shannon Basin under water this week following a very wet November and the rain event of last Saturday.

Between Friday evening and the early hours of Saturday morning last, some places in the West of Ireland endured up to 100mms. (4 inches) of rain – effectively a month’s rainfall in one day.

This week, Minister for Agriculture, Simon Coveney, visit the worst affected parts of Galway but patience is growing thing among farmers and community representatives who have seen countless commitments on flood relief measures fall through over the years.

Tom Turley said that farmers across the country had endured a very difficult situation, particularly in western, north-western and midland counties.

He added that this week, the IFA is reporting devastation to thousands of acres of farmland, households cut off, and animals having to be moved to higher ground.

Mr. Turley said that the problem was particularly acute on the River Shannon where already Lough Allen has reached the peak water levels of the 2009 winter floods.

In other areas such as Donegal, Mayo, Galway, Longford, Westmeath, Roscommon, Offaly, Clare and Limerick vast amounts of lands and households are flooded many of which have never experienced such devastation.

“There is now a need for a clear Government response. Ministers Coveney and Harris must immediately convene the National Emergency Response Group to coordinate this response.

“While CFRAMS [Catchment Flood Risk Assessment and Management] river management plans are awaited from Government, immediate action is now required. The IFA is very concerned that these plans are not taking account of the devastation on farm land and farm businesses.

“These problems are recurring almost annually and the Government must now act and put in place a plan to alleviate this for the future,” he said.