IFA welcomes Womanagh river commitment

CORK Central IFA have welcomed a commitment from Tom Parlon, Minister for State, to seek funding for restoration work on the banks of the Womanagh River at Ballymacoda in East Cork.

IFA officers recently presented a very strong case to the Minister, backed up by a cost benefit analysis compiled by Fergal O’Mahony of Teagasc.

The river burst its banks in a storm in November 2004, flooding more than 700 acres of farmland.

Edmund Lynch, a Ballymacoda farmer and secretary of Cork Central IFA, said that the commitment from Minster Parlon was very positive, and was the result of more than 18 months of lobbying.

However, he was disappointed that another section of the river bank, which will also need some reinforcement, would not be included in this particular project.