Hundreds still waiting for flood relief funding
Hundreds of farmers are still waiting for emergency flood relief funding that was promised in the wake of Storm Desmond.
Flood relief funding for local authorities and farmers has yet to be paid by the Department of Agriculture, while others have been told they are not eligible for the scheme.
The fund was set up by Agriculture Minister Simon Coveney earlier this year in response to severe flooding around the country.
Chairman of the Flood Project Team with the Irish Farmers' Association Tom Turley said much of the affected land is not now workable.
"A lot of this land won’t be of any use for most of this year," he said.
"That's added to a situation all over the country where tillage farmers have lost their crops - maize and beet farmers in particular have been afforded nothing in this scheme. That's not acceptable."
Nationally, Environment Minister Alan Kelly’s department has failed to pay almost €6.5m in emergency funding to local authorities for repairs and the clean-up of flood-hit areas.
While €14.48m has been requested by local authorities to fund the necessary and immediate works, €7.9m of this has yet to be paid, as reported in today's
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A Department of the Environment spokesman could not provide a date for when local authorities will receive the remaining funds to carry out essential works.
“All claims that were requested by December 19 have been paid. The deadline for receipt of further final claims for clean-up costs and necessary immediate works was Monday, January 29, and we will be processing these as soon as we receive sanction from departmental finance to do so,” the spokesman said.
Over 140 farmers have applied for assistance under the Emergency Flood Relief Measure which was set up by Agriculture Minister Simon Coveney earlier this year.
The fund covers the direct costs arising from livestock lost to the flood, rental costs where livestock had to be moved off farms and into alternative premises due to potential welfare issues and flood damage to agricultural structures and fittings.
A separate fodder scheme to help farmers who had feed stuff destroyed in the floods has paid 305 applicants €628,871.
