Farmers with ten hectares or more of land impacted by the Shannon Callows flooding “have only been paid for a proportion of these lands” under a current support scheme, according to the Independent TD for Roscommon Galway, Denis Naughten.
In a parliamentary question Deputy Naughten asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he was aware that this was the current position for some farmers who had applied to the Shannon Callows Flood Scheme (SCFS).
According to Minister Charlie McConalogue the scheme, which was launched last November, aims to provide funding to farmers who have lost fodder due to flooding during summer 2023.
Minister McConalogue told Deputy Naughten: “I have allocated funding of approximately €800,000 which will allow for a payment rate of up to €325/ha.
“This is for Land Parcel Identification System (LPIS) parcels in the Shannon Callows impacted as determined by my department’s Earth Observation team, utilising the Area Monitoring System, and which were claimed by farmer on their 2023 Basic Income Support for Sustainability (BISS) application.
“My department has contacted the farmers that the Earth Observation team, utilising the Area Monitoring System, identified as having been impacted by the flooding, providing them with a simple application form for them to sign and return if they wish to apply for the support.”
Shannon Callows
Separately the Sinn Féin spokesperson for agriculture, Claire Kerrane, has also highlighted her concerns in relation to references to the Shannon Callows Special Area of Conservation (SAC) and the support scheme.
Deputy Kerrane told the Dáil that the term SAC did not originally appear anywhere on the government website in relation to the scheme and she asked for clarification as to whether “farmers must have lands within the SAC to be eligible” for the flood scheme.
She also added: ” I have been made aware that a number of farmers for whom 10 ha or more were flooded have only been paid for 3ha, 4ha or 5ha. I would like that to be explained.
” The main injustice is in situations where compensation is not available to a farmer whose land has flooded but is available to the farmer next door whose land has also flooded.
“That should ring alarm bells in the context of the monitoring system that is being used because it is clearly not working.”
.