Fine Gael TD for Limerick Patrick O’Donovan has welcomed the allocation of €1million by the Minister for Agriculture, Simon Coveney TD towards transport costs to help in the importation of fodder for the farming community.
Speaking in the Dáil, Patrick O’Donovan said he had been contacted by several individual farmers and members of the farming community who were extremely anxious and worried about the current situation. “We’ve had nearly nineteen months of continuous rain and in some places where the land is severely disadvantaged, the farmers were unable to save hay or silage last year with the result that they are now at their wits end. It is fair to say that in some of the most severely disadvantaged areas farmers have been put under huge pressure because of the recent weather, which has seen the winter drag on into April.”
Patrick O’Donovan told the Dáil that while cooperatives were trying to help, there needed to be a concerted effort between the Departments of Agriculture and Social Protection to help the most distressed farmers. He said that in some cases that he had been made aware of the issue was now one of humanitarian in nature and was that he was in no way exaggerating the scale of the problem. “I’ve been told by farmers that because of the conditions that have existed up to now that in some places there are now serious concerns for animal welfare which needed to be addressed by Government through a fodder scheme. The stress and worry that farmers are under needs to be relieved and that is why I am appealing for intervention.”
Patrick O’Donovan will be among a number of Fine Gael TD’s who will meet the Minister for Agriculture this week and he has said that he will be asking Simon Coveney to put in place measures with his colleague Joan Burton that will provide relief for distressed farmers.
