Landslide victims hopeful of EU approval for aid funding
Agriculture Minister Joe Walsh announced a €100,000 aid scheme in March for those worst hit by the incident in the Pullathomas area.
However, European Commission red tape has delayed the release of the compensation.
Locals are confident that farmers will be allowed to apply for assistance from the Department of Agriculture very shortly.
More than 50 farms were damaged by the landslide on Dooncarton mountain which was caused by a thunderstorm on September 19.
Around 15 farms were extensively damaged, with sheds destroyed and livestock either washed away or strayed.
“Some farmers have had to take out loans of thousands of euro to rebuild sheds and repair fences to keep their remaining sheep from wandering off their land,” said Dooncarton Landslide Committee chairman Gerard McDonnell.
“The department are being very tight-lipped, but local public representatives have indicated the aid package should be approved in about two weeks,” said Mr McDonnell.
A Department of Agriculture spokesperson said last night that a positive response was expected from Brussels some time before the end of the summer.
The commission’s state aid section has to clear all such compensation schemes, to ensure member states do not give unwarranted grant aid to their own farmers.
“We have had to prove that the damage which the money is being provided for actually happened and estimate the amount of money involved,” he said. Department officials have included press coverage of the landslide and its aftermath as part of the evidence submitted to the European Commission.
Over €300,000 from the Office of Public Works has already been distributed by the Red Cross to those injured or forced to move temporarily from their homes in the Pullathomas area.
The Department of the Environment has given funding to Mayo County Council to repair damaged roads and bridges, and construct barriers to help prevent further landslides on the mountain.
