This article is from page 80 of the 2008-09-16 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 80 JPG
WITH the poor weather showing no signs of clearing, The Department of Agriculture last week offered some relief to Clare farmers by lifting some of the restrictions on early up- land grazing in the Burren.
Clare TD and Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Tony Killeen, confirmed on Thursday that the de- partment has sanctioned a once off lifting of the restriction placed on REPS 2 and 3 farmers from grazing animals in upland areas of the Bur- ren before October 1.
The north Clare TD confirmed that the decision had been taken in light
of the impact of animals grazing on lowland areas that have been ad- versely affected by record-breaking rainfall this year.
Minister Killeen said that partici- pation in REPS 2 and 3 is guided by traditional farming practices where- by animals are moved from lowland areas to upland grasslands during Aurea
“This year, however, we have wit- nessed extremely wet weather con- ditions, which have made the move- ment and grazing of cattle in lowland areas extremely difficult for farm- eI ae OLomnsy-b (Om
“T am delighted to confirm that the Department has agreed to lift the October Ist restriction on condition
that individual farmers notify the lo- cal Department of Agriculture office of their intention to move animals.
“The approval of once off early ac- cess to the firmer winterage lands in upland areas of the Burren will be of benefit to farmers, the environment and animal welfare.”
Minister of State Killeen pointed out that the Department’s decision comes just three weeks after Minis- ter Brendan Smith announced a six- week extension of the REPS slurry- spreading deadline.
Meanwhile, Clare Fine Gael TD, Joe Carey last week called on the Minister for Agriculture to extend the scheme for investment aid for Farm Waste Management. This
scheme has involved the building of slatted houses in order to comply with EU directives.
Over recent months, extreme weath- er conditions have hampered severe- ly building work. “Summer 2008 has been one of the worst on record for rainfall in Ireland. Records show it was the wettest August for 170 years with between 14 and 21 wet days during the month,” he said.
“There is no doubt that farmers have had a very difficult summer, with tillage farming, in particular, badly hit. We need to ensure that the farming community is given every assistance dealing with the weather conditions and the difficulties the ex- treme weather present.”