‘Minister is in denial’ says Sligo farmer

A Cloonacool based farmer says that the Minister for Agriculture, Michael Creed, is in denial about issues that are affecting farmers in the region.

Eddie Davitt, Rural Development Chairman for the IFA in Sligo, has been left angered by what he calls the Ministers refusal to address the issues in Sligo and surrounding areas.

Davitt criticised the minister after farmers were fined following the fires in the Killery mountain last year.

“The way the Minister has dealt with this has been disgusting,” Mr. Davitt told The Sligo Champion.

He continued: “Over 30 farmers are suffering because of this, and their livelihoods have been impacted.

“It has been raised a few times in the Dáil and last week he basically said he knew nothing about it. That’s insulting to us,” he continued.

The impact of the fodder crisis continues to be felt by many farmers in the region, he said.

“The fodder crisis has been tough for everyone financially, physically and emotionally. It was a devastating year for farmers in the region.

“Costs have quadrupled for people. We had two high profile meetings in Sligo about the fodder crisis and nothing came out of that.

“They almost denied that there was a fodder crisis even happening.

“He doesn’t live in the west of Ireland, he doesn’t see the problems that we face on a daily basis here. The Minister has not acknowledged that this has been going on,” he said.