Farmers in Co. Kerry have been helping the Health Service Executive (HSE) to deliver essential healthcare supplies to people during the current cold snap.
The chair of the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) Jason Fleming told Agriland that they were contacted by the HSE in recent days in order to reach people living in remote areas cut off by snow.
Farmers have already been helping to clear roads, along with delivering groceries and animal feed to parts of the county.
Farmers
“We have the jeeps and the tractors that can travel the byroads that are not gritted, most of them aren’t.
“From a Kerry IFA perspective, I have to give credit to the farmers in the county who are stepping up to the mark.
“Over the last couple of days they are out morning and night pulling cars out of ditches, clearing trees off of roads helping people to work,” Fleming said.
Some farmers also helped to transport nurses who were due on the night shift in University Hospital Kerry (UHK) last night.
It is just one of the many examples of farmers in counties hit by heavy snow and icy conditions helping their neighbours and communities.
Jason Fleming warned that “the worst is still to come” as temperatures are set to plummet to as low as -8° or -10°C in places over the coming nights.
Met Éireann has issued Status Orange weather warnings for low temperatures and ice for the majority of the country.
“The most important thing going forward is to check in on elderly neighbours and make sure they have what they need,” Fleming said.
He said that this includes providing wood and turf as many rural homes rely on open fires for heating.
The Kerry IFA chair said the biggest concern currently is the number of power and water outages.
According to ESB Networks, 10,000 homes farms and businesses remain without power this morning, mainly in counties Kerry, Limerick and Tipperary.
If you come across fallen wires or damaged electricity networks, never, ever touch or approach these as they are live and extremely dangerous. Damage to electricity infrastructure can be reported to ESB Networks by calling 1800 372 999.
As of last evening, crews from Uisce Éireann were working to restore water to approximately 30,000 people in Cork, Limerick, Kerry, Tipperary and Dublin.
Customers can contact Uisce Éireann on 1800 278 278 or visit the Uisce Éireann website for live updates.
Low temperatures
Jason Fleming said that if temperatures drop to as low as -10° then getting water to animals on farms could be a major issue.
There has also been reports of farm sheds collapsing and being damaged under the weight of snow.
The Kerry IFA chair appealed to all farmers to be extremely careful if attempting to remove snow from shed roofs and not to carry out such work alone.
Fleming added that anyone who needs assistance from farmers can contact the Tralee IFA office on 066 7123279.