The minister with responsibility for flooding has announced a new pilot scheme under which funding will be provided for cleaning the channels of rivers.
It will be rolled out first in counties Sligo and Leitrim, to be followed in Mayo, Longford and Laois.
One of the main beneficiaries in this region is expected to be the Owenmore River, which the minister, Kevin ‘Boxer’ Moran saw for himself when he visited Sligo some months ago.
Sligo Independent Councillor Marie Casserly says it’s now up to the county council’s in each area to prepare and submit a plan and costings for the work that needs to be done.
Sligo/Leitrim Fianna Fail TD Eamon Scanlon says such a scheme is long overdue and will help farmers who simply can’t farm anywhere along the river at present:
