THE Department of Agriculture has been called upon ‘to lay off on inspections’ over the coming weeks and months as farmers come to terms with the aftermath of Storm Éowyn last week.

Galway IFA Chair, Stephen Canavan, said that the storm had left a horrible trail of destruction behind it on farms across Galway and indeed the entire western region.

“Roofs have been blown off sheds, trees are down everywhere and walls have been knocked – it’s going to be the summer before farmers will start getting things back to normal.

“Where a roof has been blown off a cattle shed, there’s absolutely no point in leaving those cattle inside with no cover over them – they’ll just have to be let out.

“The last thing farmers will need now is some Department inspector calling out to them and telling them that they shouldn’t have a feeder out the fields.

“The Department need to tune into this situation straight away and to give farmers the chance over the coming months to get things straightened out,” said Stephen Canavan.

He added that not alone were older sheds badly damaged by Storm Éowyn, newer ones also felt the force of what was one of the worst storms experienced in the West of Ireland.

“In terms of repairs to sheds, you’ll get very little done for under €10,000, and even at that, it’s very hard to get workers or contractors to do these jobs,” said Stephen Canavan.

Rotting ash trees, made weak by Dieback, he added,  also had led to a lot of damage while many farmers faced huge hardship due to no electricity and no water on their farmers.

“Thankfully here in Galway, we’ve heard of no fatality due to the storm and the fact that it peaked while most people were in bed was a big help in this regard while there were also plenty of warnings in advance,”  said Stephen Canavan.

He also said that since the storm, there had been an awful lot of goodwill in terms of neighbours helping each other out and he asked people just to drop in and check up in cases where elderly people were living alone in more isolated areas.

This week, Roundstone farmer and IFA Hill Farming Chair Cáilín Conneely said that there were thousands of farmers across the country battling and dealing with the aftermath of last week’s winds, and the unforeseen additional costs that it will bring.

“Many farmers have had farm buildings, fences and/or hedgerows damaged, and there is still a large number without power even still and are relying on generators, where available, to keep the show on the road.

“Farmers need money in their pockets now, not whenever the Department get around to getting their ship in order in terms of marking overdue payments.

“The Department and Local Authorities also need to demonstrate their support for impacted farmers by stopping on-the-ground inspections for a period of time to allow farmers assess and repair whatever damage has occurred without fear of an on-farm inspection.”

“With regard ACRES, this includes flexibility around any winds caused damage to contracted ACRES measures, including for example hedging. Additional flexibility and support will be required on all fronts,” he said.

“We are dealing with unprecedented damage here and all we ask for is support and a degree of understanding for the challenges many are enduring currently,”  said Cáilín Conneely.

Pictured: Stephen Canavan: ‘Lay off inspections’.