The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine has been urged today (Wednesday, April 3) to “outline a response” to the impact of persistent wet weather on soil conditions around the country.
According to Met Éireann the week ahead will continue to be unsettled with “frequent showers and rain, and some heavy downpours at times”.
“Rainfall amounts will largely be between two and five times higher than normal, with the wettest conditions expected in the west and southwest,” it added.
In light of the difficulties Sinn Féin’s spokesperson on agriculture, Claire Kerrane, has called on the MInister for Agriculture, for Agriculture, Food and the Marine to outline his response to the fodder shortage and the current challenges facing family farmers.
Deputy Kerrane said today: “Continued heavy rainfall is putting serious pressure on farmers across virtually all sectors, with delays to the turning out of livestock and planting being reported.
“We know that challenging weather is set to continue and it is expected that soil conditions will worsen which, in turn, will further delay farmers in carrying out their usual spring activities.”
Sinn Féin’s spokesperson on agriculture said that while Minister Charlie McConalogue clearly has no control over the weather, he does “have control over the response that is put in place to respond to such challenging conditions”.
“His department ruled out a fodder support scheme during a meeting with the National Fodder and Food Security Committee (NFFSC) last week. Calls for a delay to ground inspections were seemingly also met with a lukewarm response from department officials.
“While I understand it is logistically and administratively cumbersome to delay farm inspections, it should at least be looked at as something that can be practically put in place at this time,” Deputy Kerrane added.
Soil conditions
The Roscommon-Galway TD said the minister should outline if he is considering any measures to provide relief to farmers.
“Many are under serious pressure, which is set to continue given the anticipated soil conditions over the coming week and possibly weeks.
“It isn’t good enough for the department to just hold meetings with farmers and representative organisations and relay concerns to the minister or the government – farmers need assistance and they need it now,” she added.