A farmer who spotted the “seasonal” reminder issued recently by Kildare County Council and expected a merry Christmas jingle was shocked to instead find heavy-handed threats about maintaining field drainage.

“As a landowner it is your responsibility to maintain drains on your land,” it states. So, you must ensure that water, soil slurry or other material does not flow on to a public road from your land. But, you must also ensure that water is not prevented or obstructed from draining on to your land from the public road. “Consequently, the drainage system should be adequately maintained.” The public road includes grass verges and roadside drains, it notes. Farmers must ensure that entrances to land have adequately sized pipes or culverts and are sufficiently well maintained.

“In cases where landowners fail to comply with their obligations, the Council will take whatever action is necessary to ensure compliance and will seek to recoup costs from landowners,” it says.

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Farmers feeding stock on land are also targeted. “Landowners are obliged to ensure that the transport of fodder over public roads is on the basis that there is no alternative off-road means of access.”

Tractor tyres must be regularly washed down to ensure that soil is not carried on to the public road. Kildare IFA plans to raise the unseasonal notice with the Council.

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