It is not sustainable for the Department of Agriculture to keep rolling out compensation schemes for farmers with property damaged by flooding, Minister of State Pippa Hackett has claimed.

Minister Hackett stated that the focus must instead move to preventing flooding in the first place and adapting to climate change.

The minister’s comments came during a debate which became heated in the Seanad on Monday afternoon, when Fianna Fáil Senator Erin McGreehan accused the Department of living in “fairytale land” with farmers hit by November floods in north Co Louth.

“Today, I really want to highlight the plight of north Louth farmers who are severely impacted by the recent floods and the importance of providing financial assistance to these farmers and it cannot be overstated that importance of this, minister,” Senator McGreehan began.

“It is crucial for their individual recovery, but also for the agricultural sector of our regional economy, our local economy and the importance our farming families play in the north Louth economy.”

‘Destruction’

Senator McGreehan told Minister Hackett that the flooding had “left a trail of destruction” leaving crops, fodder, fences and fields destroyed.

“This catastrophe has left many farmers in a state of despair, not knowing how to rebuild their lives and their businesses,” the senator said.

“We have lambing starting in north Louth, we have people getting their fields ready for silage or tillage or whatever they are doing from spring onwards and a lot of their land is damaged, minister, an awful lot of infrastructure is damaged, rivers have been rerouted.”

The senator claimed that “not one Department official” has yet responded to her correspondence on the flood damage impacting farmers in north Louth, despite it being the Department’s responsibility” to support farmers.

She also stated to have raised the possible issue of land eligibility issues arising for farm schemes, but to have received no official response from Department officials.

Taxpayers’ money

Minister Hackett recognised that “2023 was a very difficult year for farmers” with record levels of rainfall, but pointed farmers towards their insurers to look for compensation for damaged property.

“I think, for one, it is unfair to say my Department does not support farmers. That is what it does, largely with taxpayers’ money and we have to make calls for what is appropriate to spend money on and what isn’t,” Minister Hackett responded to the senator.

Minister Hackett addressed the Seanad on the issue of farmers in Louth with property damaged during flooding. / Brian Farrell

“I don’t think it is sustainable and I don’t even believe you think it’s sustainable for the Department or any department to pay off one measures in. That’s why the focus has to be on the future, on mitigation, on climate adaptation.

“We cannot keep going back out and saying ‘something has happened, we need compensation’. Compensation is not a sustainable model, we have to look at climate adaption,” the minister said.

Scheme

However, Minister Hackett did suggest that consideration is being given to a standardised scheme which could be implemented by the Department of Agriculture in cases of severe flooding.

“There are existing flood schemes that could be rolled out by the Department of Social Protection and the Department of Enterprise where areas meet the threshold of severe flood damage, but there is no scheme in place when it comes to agriculture,” she continued.

“This is something Minister [for Agriculture Charlie] McConalogue is currently reflecting on given the challenges around adverse weather, changing climate in the future and the potential need to have a scheme designed which can be utilised in such circumstances.

“Such consideration does not impact, however, on the primary responsibility of farmers and business people to ensure that their properties are insured for these potential scenarios.”