THE chairwoman of the Office of Public Works has conceded that a €425,000 campaign to raise awareness of flooding did not work.

FARMERS from the West and midlands outlined the extent of last December’s flooding to European Commission officials in Brussels yesterday.

THE creation of one agency with full responsibility for river and waterways maintenance in the state will be discussed at an Irish Farmers Association forum in Ballinasloe, Co Galway, tomorrow afternoon.

THE Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food has been urged to start inspections under the Fodder Aid Scheme immediately.

IRISH farmers were in Brussels to outline the scale of the flooding that turned thousands of acres into vast lakes across the country to European Union agriculture and rural development Commissioner Mariann Fischer Boel.

Anxious communities along the banks of the River Shannon were tonight bracing themselves for devastating floods after waters reached record heights.

THE plight of farmers whose lands adjoin the River Shannon in six counties was highlighted yesterday as floods reached record levels.

FARM families, already suffering from falling incomes and a shortage of fodder for their livestock, were bracing themselves last night for more heavy rain and high winds over the weekend.

TURF cutting on designated raised bogs must be continued for domestic purposes, according to the Irish Farmers Association.

IT was not so much road rage but farm fury that turned Brian Cowen’s opening of a dual carriageway into a political car crash yesterday.

Up to 400 angry farmers heckled Taoiseach Brian Cowen today as they vented their fury over the closure of a much-needed grant scheme.

A WORKING group set up by Environment Minister John Gormley is to examine issues relating to the phasing out of domestic turf cutting on designated raised bogs in special areas of conservation and natural heritage areas over the coming years.

TURF CUTTING can continue on all bogs during 2009, according to a statement issued last week by Environment Minister John Gormley.

BOG owners have been granted a year-long reprieve from a ban on turf-cutting that is expected to come into force at the start of 2010.

FARMERS in Ireland are being burdened with unfair and excessive water charges, the Irish Farmers Association has told the European Commission.

THE continuing wet weather is posing a serious threat to the €400 million grain harvest.

THE price of oil, which has recently reached $110 a barrel, has boosted the value of traditional turf cutting in many parts of Ireland.

AS TURF-CUTTING will be banned from bogs designated as special areas of conservation (SACs) after this spring’s cutting season, many people are angry and fear that a ban on the harvesting of peat on all bogs may soon follow.

FARMERS will be driven out of business by the water-pricing policies being pursued by the Department of the Environment and local authorities, say the IFA.

TURF cutting may be banned several years before an anticipated ban comes into force. The turf-cutting season is well underway, but it could be one of the last.

ENVIRONMENTAL maintenance works to ease summer flooding which is having a serious impact on farming and habitats in the Shannon Callows region is to begin shortly, Minister of State Tom Parlon has announced.

RISING water charges will hit farmers hard, especially those whose land is fragmented, warns Fine Gael Agriculture and Food spokesperson, Denis Naughten, TD.

THE survival of the corncrake is one of the main aims of an agreement reached between the National Parks and Wildlife Service and the Irish Farmers’ Association for the Shannon Callows Special Protection Area.

FOLLOWING protracted negotiations, agreement has finally been reached between the IFA and the Department of the Environment on payments to farmers to offset losses as a result of farming restrictions in the Shannon Callows designated Special Protection Area (SPA).

Dear Sir,

A group of around 20 farmers has occupied the offices of the Department of Agriculture in Galway.