Cable car ban on livestock

Livestock have been banned from travelling on the country’s only cable car, sparking fears for the future of farming on a West Cork island.

Cork County Council said the ban on Dursey Island’s cable car was necessary to comply with health and safety requirements.

County engineer Noel O’Keeffe said: “The risk to humans is too great and there are no European codes that permit carriage of animals on cable cars.”

However, he said the local authority was committed to ensuring the future of farming on Dursey Island, off the rugged Beara Peninsula.

He confirmed the council planned to advertise soon for consultants to examine the cable car system and to suggest engineering solutions, which could include modifications to ensure it could carry humans and livestock.

The IFA has sought an urgent meeting with county manager Martin Riordan to discuss the issue.

“Health and safety issues have to be respected, but farmers’ livelihoods are at risk and we have concerns about animal welfare on Dursey,” said West Cork IFA chairman Richard Connell.

The nine livestock farmers on Dursey have used the cable car to ferry their animals since it began operations in 1969.

The cable car can carry a static load of 544kg but last October the council reduced its “dynamic load” carrying capacity to 400kg, which meant farmers could only transport sheep and light cattle.

The decision was based on recommendations from a cable car expert, who carried out a structural survey on the cable car’s cabin, wires, cables and towers in 2010.

The council then asked engineering experts to examine the impact the reduced load limit was having on the entire system. They inspected the system in December as it transported a live load.

Mr O’Keeffe said based on their recommendation last January, a decision had been taken to ban livestock entirely from the cable car.

A consultative group has been set up involving council officials, Fáilte Ireland, and the farmers, to examine how the cable car could be used to develop farming.

Dursey Island farmers raise about 60 suckler cows, which calve from February to April, and about 500 breeding ewes.