Common good must come first - New policy on land drainage

THIS society affords many rights and robust protections to property, but it is not always as assertive when property rights might be in conflict with the common good.

One example of that is the damage done to country roads where water flowing from farmland destroys road surfaces. The multi-million cost of repairing this damage has been borne by local authorities, even though the problem can be caused by on-farm drainage works. There has been a spate of these works in recent years because landowners wanted to avail of the opportunity promised by the end of milk quotas and because EU grants schemes mean that all land must be reclaimed if needs be and made productive.

Yesterday, Cork County Council signalled a change in policy on the issue based on obligations imposed on landowners by the Roads Act 1993 to prevent water flowing from their land onto public roads.

The policy change is necessary because of climate change and the fact that the council has had to repeatedly repair some sections of road because of predictable but preventable flooding. The council plans to increase roadside drainage works to compliment this welcome initiative.

Just like many industries, farming is facing a challenging time, but it seems appropriate for the local authority to adopt this position as only a minority of land users will continue to ignore the law once it is clarified for them.