Louth County Council has been accused of “not cooperating” in relation to issues which have arisen over commonage land by one of its own councillors.
Cllr. John Reilly told Agriland that he has concerns about the laws surrounding commonage land following a recent incident when a car collided with escaped sheep from the Cooley Mountains.
According to the Louth councillor the incident occured along the commonage in north Louth where there are “no signs to warn drivers of the animals”.
Cllr. Reilly said that the incident resulted in a number of sheep being killed.
According to the councillor he has raised issues with Louth County Council (Louth CoCo) in relation to commonage land but he said he was “given a deaf ear”.
Cllr. Reilly told Agriland that he has also highlighted these issues directly to the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue, to find out who was responsible.
The minister has referred the councillor to the 1985 Animals Act and the current laws surrounding commonage.
“So much of the rules of the common law relating to liability for negligence as excludes or restricts the duty which a person might owe to others to take such care as is reasonable to see that damage is not caused by an animal straying on to a public road is hereby abolished,” the act states.
“Where damage is caused by an animal straying from unfenced land on to a public road, a person who placed the animal on the land shall not be regarded as having committed a breach of the duty to take care by reason.”
This only applies if “the land is situated in an area where fencing is not customary and he had a right to place animals on that land”.
Council objections
Cllr. Reilly believes that further infrastructure needs to be put in place to ensure that there are no further incidents in relation to animals and commonage land.
He said there are currently grids at either end of the land, but he would like to see more in the middle to split up the fencing and to improve the issue.
“The council objected to this because they said it creates a hazard and you don’t create a hazard to cure a hazard. But this is a hazard and the council is not cooperating to solve it.
“I’m not putting liability onto anyone but the council [is] claiming that it has nothing to do with them whatsoever.
“It’s only a matter of time before the sheep wander out on the road again and they haven’t a very long distance to go until they’re on the motorway,” Cllr. Reilly added.
Coillte
Another issue that was highlighted by the county councillor was in relation to forests which surrounds commonage land in Cooley.
Cllr. Reilly said trees surrounding the land had recently been cut, which he believes has resulted in a “deterioration of fencing”.
Coillte has confirmed to Agriland that the semi-state body had put up a fence surrounding part of the land following local consultation.
It said this was to protect “a recently replanted young forest from grazing animals”.
“Farmers and Coillte are being cooperative, but the council is not,” Reilly said.
Louth County Council has not yet responded to queries from Agriland on the issue.