A Co. Clare farmer has been unable to cut silage and has had to sell 30 of his cows due to a lack of progress in repairing 30 acres of his land on the Shannon Estuary banks, Peter O Connell of The Clare Champion reports.
Vincent O Shea from Ballynacally farms up to 120 acres and says that there has been no progress made with regard to alleviating the problem which affects 30 acres of his land, the paper says.
It also says that two neighbouring farmers, John Slattery and Sean Carrig are also affected by a similar situation.
“The two sluices went in January of 2014. There is no one coming near us. They are saying they are doing this and doing that.
“Pat Breen (TD) reckons the council have the money but you ring the council and they say they have no more there for this.
They have money for the tourists going to Lahinch and Kilkee but that’s no good to me. I can’t do any silage or anything this year.
He also says he couldn’t do it last year and that he got rid of all the cows last year.
“I had to. I had 30 sucklers. I have 14 dry stock now. There is the best part of 30 acres flooded on me.
“I can’t do anything with it until the banks are done permanently,” the Clare farmer said to the paper.
Minister Simon Coveney and Minister of State Simon Harris both visited Co. Clare to look at the flooding issues affecting farmers last year, O Connell reports.
However, Vincent O Shea says that they haven’t been to his affected land and says that it was all publicity for him.
“What brought him down from Dublin and then end of story? What did it cost to bring him down? It’s up in a heap.
We’re getting no hearing from anyone. We’re told the money isn’t there and the money is there but nobody has ever come and told us anything.
“It’s a case of either fixing it or letting it out to sea. In England they dredged the land that was flooded and it’s all done now.
“There was none of that here. Everything I have is bought,” he told the paper.
O Shea says that his home is also under threat of flooding, that his house is indanger of being flooded and the bank at the back went.