Farmers face day in court over poor roads

One of Cork County Council’s most senior officials has warned that a significant number of farmers face prosecution in the district court for failing to help the local authority maintain roads in a good condition.

Aidan Weir, the council’s acting head of its roads and transport services directorate, said millions of euro worth of water damage was being done to road networks around the country as some farmers were neglecting drainage works.

Under the 1993 Roads Act, it is an offence for a landowner to discharge water from their land onto a public road. It is also an offence to prevent water from flowing off the road into fields.