Senator Padraig Mac Lochlainn has received confirmation from the office of the Minister for Agriculture, Michael Creed that the flood relief payments are finally being processed and are on their way to the farmers in Donegal affected by last August’s floods.
Senator Mac Lochlainn, a member of the Oireachtas Agriculture Committee, said he has been assured the payments are on their way.
But he said he was frustrated by the length of time it took for the payments to arrive.
“I have been very frustrated by the length of time these payments have taken. But today, I have been assured by the Minister’s office that the payments are being processed and they are on their way to the affected Donegal farmers.
“The reality for most Donegal farmers is that is tough to make a living in this county from farming. Annual margins are very tight if there is any profit at all and these floods just made things even tougher”.
He concluded “While I welcome this news, I want to put on record again that this flood relief scheme should be widened beyond the maximum payment of €15,000 and extended to include crop growers, some who were financially devastated by the floods. It is deeply unfair to abandon some of the farmers whose losses go well beyond €15,000 and to limit the scheme to certain categories of farmers or growers”.
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