IFA Connacht Chairs Meet Over Storm Fallout

The IFA Deputy President Alice Doyle will meet with the IFA Connacht Chair Brendan Golden and the five IFA County Chairs in the region in Carrick-on-Shannon this morning to discuss the continuing fall out from Storm Ėowyn.

The group will hear an update from the ESB and Irish Water on progress on reconnections and solutions for farmers and rural dwellers who are without water or electricity.

IFA Deputy President Alice Doyle said that there was huge frustration amongst farmers in Connacht and other counties who were still without water or power.

“The people on the ground are working hard to restore power and water. However, there must be a whole review to see how we have ended up in this situation. There is no doubt that the storm was a significant event, but lessons have to be learned,” she said.

“While the short-term target must be on restoring water and electricity, there must also be a focus on preparing better for an event like this in the future,” she said.

“There is a real fear that the focus will move off these issues until it happens again. This cannot be the case. The Government must put a taskforce in place now, involving all stakeholders, to begin work on addressing the vulnerabilities this storm has brought to light,” she said.

IFA Connacht Regional Chair Brendan Golden said farmers were experiencing real hardship caring for their animals without power or water.

“Farmers are under massive stress as are all people in rural communities who are without power or water. We must improve the infrastructure to ensure that we don’t have this impact again,” he said.