An Irish MEP has said that farmers have been sent legal letters on behalf of other rural dwellers complaining about their work practices.
Billy Kelleher told the recent Kerry Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) annual general meeting (AGM) that such letters are rare but have been issued to farmers by solicitors on behalf of their clients who claim their quality of life is being eroded by farm activities.
“People may initiate legal actions against farmers for carrying out basic farming activities such as starting work early in the morning,” he said.
“They may claim that it is interfering with their sleep patterns and also raise issues about noise or odours coming from farms.
“The challenge is that some people, when they are living in rural Ireland, may have a contrary view to what rural Ireland is about and it can make life difficult for farming communities,” the Ireland South MEP explained to Agriland.
The Kerry IFA chair said that he was shocked to hear such letters were being sent.
“If you live in the country you have to accept these things, or else you haven’t much business being there.
“A farmer has to get up in the morning and milk his cows or when silage time comes, they have to work at every opportunity they get,” Kenny Jones remarked.
Planning
Billy Kelleher said that “very sensible” planning guidelines are needed so that rural communities can be vibrant and self-sustaining.
“We need to ensure we have a continued flow of young people into rural Ireland. We can’t have a situation where people can’t get planning or live there. In the event of that being the case then very quickly communities become old and stale,” he said.
The Fianna Fáil MEP explained that as a result there may not be enough people in a rural area to maintain schools, post offices and other essential services.
He said this must be taken into account by government, An Bord Pleánala and local authorities.
Kelleher also said there is a big problem with serial objectors who are against one-off rural houses, which he believes has to be dealt with in legislation.
“People who are putting in objections and observations have to have some material interest or stake in terms of the site and the application itself,” he said.
The Kerry IFA chair agreed that the current planning policy for rural areas is “very restrictive”.
“We have a situation now where the sons and daughters of farmers can’t be given a site as they won’t get planning permission for it,” Kenny Jones told Agriland.
“It was always the case that you could give a site to your children to help them along in life, that is no longer the case now. They have to prove that they are a farmer or that’s it, even working locally won’t do.
“When people get older they may like to have their son or daughter living down the road. Rural Ireland will be a quiet place if this keeps up,” the Kerry IFA chair concluded.