Greater attention must be paid to flood prone areas says Sinn Féin MEP



Sinn Féin MEP for the Midlands North West, Matt Carthy has called for greater attention to be paid to flood prone areas in the ongoing Areas of Natural Constraint Review.

Carthy, who is a member of the European Parliaments Agriculture and Rural Development committee, said flood prone rural areas have been shown little to no attention in the Government’s priorities. He said that while the EU Floods Directives required all EU Member States to adopt Flood Risk Management Plans by December 2015, Ireland’s were still outstanding as of October 2016.

He said this means that not only are there no plans in place, but the Irish Government has already missed the first reporting period.

He said he has asked the Commission repeatedly to confirm whether all Irish Flood Risk Management Plans and the corresponding reports have been submitted yet, but as of yet there has been no response.

Mr Carthy said the Government cannot continue to let those areas affected by flooding down, adding that the upcoming review of the ANC Scheme should be an opportunity to right some of this neglect.

He said urbanisation without flood management planning, industrial peatland development, climate change and the designation of certain areas have all contributed to increased flooding. Yet all of these factors are out of the hands of farmers.

He concluded by saying that In cases of bad flooding, the chemical and biological processes central to certain types of farming are compromised. This means farmers have to be quick to adapt, or risk damaging their livelihood. He added that while he was sure the scientific review will uncover all of these areas, it will be up to the Minister to ensure that these areas receive an adequate level of compensation.



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