Farmers in Co Galway are angry over work being carried out on the Dunkellin River to aid the flow of the river and stop it flooding during the winter.
They told the Irish Farmers Journal the work being carried out is a waste of taxpayers’ money.
Charlie Whiriskey, a dairy farmer in Kiltullagh, said a meeting was held two years ago about getting the Dunkellin cleaned.
He said €60,000 was allocated for the river to be cleaned and that this work started in 2019, but that the work being carried out now is a waste of money.
Waste of money
“They’re just taking a scoop of silt out [with the digger] here and there. No bush is being touched, no reeds. I want answers as to why there’s money being squandered and it isn’t being done properly,” he said.
Seán Moran is a dairy farmer in Loughrea and 10ac of his land is subject to flooding at times.
“We were led to believe that they would clean the river. It’s a mess of a job. They’re leaving as much in as they’re taking out.
“They won’t allow a tree, bush or briar to be touched. If a tree grows out across the river and is holding up stuff coming down the river they can’t take it out. They wouldn’t take out a trailer load in two days. I’ve never seen such a waste of money,” he said.
Connacht IFA chair Pat Murphy said he understood the river was to be cleaned of the sediment, but claimed the people doing the work are “counting fish”. All three farmers pointed out they had no issue with the contractors, but rather the issue was with who told them to carry out the work.
Majority are happy
Fine Gael TD representing Galway East Ciaran Cannon told the Irish Farmers Journal that the total spend for the project was €50,000, with work now coming to a conclusion.
“A number of farmers have advised me that the works won’t make a difference to flooding on their land. I’m not an engineer but what I can say is that the correct consideration to regulatory framework must be given,” he said.
“You can’t drag everything out of the river these days, and I would argue that is a good thing.
“The vast majority of people are happy with the work. No widening or deepening of the river was permitted to take place.”
The Irish Farmers Journal
asked the Galway East TD about claims by farmers that the works are a fish counting exercise, to which he rhetorically responded: “How could a digger count fish?”
Consultation
Galway County Council said the proposed works include removal of blockages and obstructions to flow, reinstatement of isolated short sections of embankment, topping deposits of silt, and the cutting back of trees and other vegetation.
“Any works undertaken will be executed in accordance with the Office of Public Work’s
‘environmental drainage maintenance work’ in consultation with the National Parks and Wildlife Service and Inland Fisheries Ireland,” a spokesperson for the council said.
Read more
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Callows farmers lose ground to rising flood waters
Farmers in Co Galway are angry over work being carried out on the Dunkellin River to aid the flow of the river and stop it flooding during the winter.
They told the Irish Farmers Journal the work being carried out is a waste of taxpayers’ money.
Charlie Whiriskey, a dairy farmer in Kiltullagh, said a meeting was held two years ago about getting the Dunkellin cleaned.
He said €60,000 was allocated for the river to be cleaned and that this work started in 2019, but that the work being carried out now is a waste of money.
Waste of money
“They’re just taking a scoop of silt out [with the digger] here and there. No bush is being touched, no reeds. I want answers as to why there’s money being squandered and it isn’t being done properly,” he said.
Seán Moran is a dairy farmer in Loughrea and 10ac of his land is subject to flooding at times.
“We were led to believe that they would clean the river. It’s a mess of a job. They’re leaving as much in as they’re taking out.
“They won’t allow a tree, bush or briar to be touched. If a tree grows out across the river and is holding up stuff coming down the river they can’t take it out. They wouldn’t take out a trailer load in two days. I’ve never seen such a waste of money,” he said.
Connacht IFA chair Pat Murphy said he understood the river was to be cleaned of the sediment, but claimed the people doing the work are “counting fish”. All three farmers pointed out they had no issue with the contractors, but rather the issue was with who told them to carry out the work.
Majority are happy
Fine Gael TD representing Galway East Ciaran Cannon told the Irish Farmers Journal that the total spend for the project was €50,000, with work now coming to a conclusion.
“A number of farmers have advised me that the works won’t make a difference to flooding on their land. I’m not an engineer but what I can say is that the correct consideration to regulatory framework must be given,” he said.
“You can’t drag everything out of the river these days, and I would argue that is a good thing.
“The vast majority of people are happy with the work. No widening or deepening of the river was permitted to take place.”
The Irish Farmers Journal
asked the Galway East TD about claims by farmers that the works are a fish counting exercise, to which he rhetorically responded: “How could a digger count fish?”
Consultation
Galway County Council said the proposed works include removal of blockages and obstructions to flow, reinstatement of isolated short sections of embankment, topping deposits of silt, and the cutting back of trees and other vegetation.
“Any works undertaken will be executed in accordance with the Office of Public Work’s
‘environmental drainage maintenance work’ in consultation with the National Parks and Wildlife Service and Inland Fisheries Ireland,” a spokesperson for the council said.
Read more
Landslide washes thousands of tonnes of peat on to Leitrim farmland
Farmland flooded as river bursts its banks in Clifden
Callows farmers lose ground to rising flood waters
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