All landowners affected by the proposed Shannon to Dublin water pipeline will be supported by the Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers’ Association (ICSA).
This was announced by the ICSA Rural Development chairman Seamus Sherlock, who was speaking at a public meeting on the issue held in Nenagh, Co. Tipperary last night (Wednesday, August 22).
Speaking following the meeting, Sherlock said: “As was evidenced tonight, there is a lot of disquiet among farmers in this region about the proposed water pipe.
Logic
“It is quite clear the whole logic of the project needs to be critically evaluated by the political process before any public money is committed.
We will never have clarity around future water requirements until the myriad of problems in Dublin are fixed.
The chairman noted that Irish Water currently loses 49% of its own product through leaks.
He stressed that piping water half way across the country for it to leak back into the groundwater through faulty pipes “makes absolutely no sense”, particularly given the fact that it will cost several billion euros.
“Farmers are sick with worry about the potential impact of a pipeline being forced through their farms with the potential for extreme short term disruption and long term devaluing of the land.
‘Not against progress’
Sherlock stressed that it was not an issue with progress but rather one of waste.
He said: “While we are not against progress we are against waste and the case for this pipeline seems very dubious given all the evidence that they need to fix leakage levels in Dublin, which are scandalously high by international standards.
This has to be a priority before any money is wasted in pumping more water to a chronically leaky system.
“I would also like to make quite clear that this is not just an issue affecting farmers; the whole community is affected and is abjectly opposed to wasting vast sums of money on this,” the chairman concluded.