The chair of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine is calling on local authorities to reduce the cost on farmers of installing underpasses.
Deputy Jackie Cahill has contacted his Fianna Fáil colleague in the Department of Transport, Jack Chambers to make the case for a significant reduction in the cost of road closure licences issued by councils across the country.
The Tipperary TD welcomed a government decision to grant aid the installation of livestock underpasses for farmers under the Targeted Agricultural Modernisation Scheme 3 (TAMS 3).
“The more underpasses we have, the safer our roads will be, and there are also additional benefits in increasing farm safety and animal welfare,” he said.
Underpasses
Although grants are in place for underpasses, Deputy Cahill noted that “the cost of closing a road with a local authority can be as high as €60,000” which he said is “far too prohibitive”.
“We should be doing all we can to support farmers in installing underpasses, reducing farm labour demands, making our roads safer, and increasing animal welfare.
“This is an obvious step to take. I am delighted to see that grants are now in place for underpasses but I believe more needs to be done at county council level to reduce these costs,” he said.
Deputy Cahill said that he will continue to raise this issue with his party colleagues in government “to see delivery in this very important area”.
Cattle underpasses, which allow stock to cross roads safely and with less traffic disruption, were among the new eligible items included in the new TAMS 3.
As part of the scheme, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) set the reference cost for an underpass which is constructed under a public road at €5,000/m (linear).