“I am calling on the Government, the Minister for Finance, Mr. Michael McGrath T.D and the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Mr. Charlie McConalogue T.D to provide the necessary compensation to the farmers that have lands on or adjacent to Lough Funshinagh that are badly affected by the flooding since 2015”

“I am calling on the Government, the Minister for Finance, Mr. Michael McGrath T.D and the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Mr. Charlie McConalogue T.D to provide the necessary compensation to the farmers that have lands on or adjacent to Lough Funshinagh that are badly affected by the flooding since 2015”

The Meetings Administrator read the following reply:

This Motion requires a resolution of the Council.

Proposing the motion, Cllr. Ward said this is the second time he has proposed this motion and eight years since the flooding of Lough Funshinagh has affected the farmers in the area. Forty families in community are affected and farms with an average acreage of 150 acres had been reduced in size to 50-55 acres, due to ongoing flooding. As a result, many farmers were receiving only 75% of their grant entitlements due to ongoing flooding issues.  Seconding the motion, Cllr. Naughten stated that Minister McConalogue called to the area a couple of weeks ago and is aware on the ongoing situation. He supported the motion that farmers should be compensated.

The Acting Director of Services Mr. Greg O’Donnell updated the Members with regard to the Councils efforts with regard to the Lough Funshinagh flooding issue.

He stated that planned works hadn’t been addressed due to legal constraints. The Expert Advisory Group was working under the direction of the Steering Group with the priority of protecting local roads and dwellings not impacted by flooding up to the present time and which don’t impact upon local ecology and the environment.

He said the issue was still not considered as an emergency and still designated as an SAC (Special Area of Conservation) and the Council must establish a study base line for hydro ecology works to proceed on the Lough, which was the initial focus of the work of the Expert Group. Solutions are required to protect both the ecology and hydrology of the lake while also protecting local infrastructure. A study of local ecology will require at least one season of investigation.

After this, Mr. O’Donnell said a contract would be issued by the end of March, following which the Expert Group will progress to engage a consultation to look at the options to consider a planning solution, which meant a likely two-year time frame for a solution.

Cllr. Fallon thanked the Director for the update and reiterated that everyone wants a permanent solution at Lough Funshinagh and supported the proposal the farmers should be compensated. This is a complex situation and relocation is not an option.

Cllr. Kilduff encouraged the executive to do as much as possible to find a lasting solution.

Cllr. Ward thanked the members for their support and welcomed the recent visit of the Minister. He proposed amending the motion to include that any compensation paid should be backdated to 2015.

On the PROPOSAL of Cllr. Ward

SECONDED by Cllr. Naughten

It was AGREED to send a letter to the Minister for Finance, Mr. Michael McGrath T.D and the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Mr. Charlie McConalogue T.D to provide the necessary compensation to the farmers, backdated to 2015, that have lands on or adjacent to Lough Funshinagh that are badly affected by the flooding since 2015.